World Cup Day 32: Argentina Break English Hearts as Two Finals Set

The 2026 World Cup semifinals concluded on Wednesday with Argentina staging a dramatic late comeback to defeat England 2-1 in Atlanta, booking their place in a second consecutive final against Spain, who had already secured their spot with a 2-0 win over France on Monday. For England, the wait for a first men's final since 1966 goes on, and they will instead face France in Saturday's third-place playoff. Argentina, driven by Lionel Messi's late brilliance, once again proved why they are the defending champions.
England 1-2 Argentina
The semifinal was goalless at the break after a cagey, tightly-contested first half where both sides cancelled each other out in midfield. Declan Rice and Enzo Fernández battled for control while neither attack could find a breakthrough. That changed ten minutes after the restart when Morgan Rogers slipped a pass through to Anthony Gordon, who finished sharply to put England ahead and spark jubilation among the Three Lions supporters. England appeared to be managing the game well, and Thomas Tuchel turned to his bench, bringing on John Stones and Djed Spence to shore up the defence — a decision that would prove costly. As England retreated deeper and deeper, Argentina surged. Lionel Messi, increasingly influential, drifted wide right and whipped in a sublime cross that Enzo Fernández met to equalise in the 85th minute. Seven minutes later, Messi repeated the trick, again finding Lautaro Martínez, who had been brought on specifically for this moment, to head home the winner in stoppage time. Tuchel frantically backtracked, throwing on Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney for Stones and Spence, but it was too late. Rodrigo de Paul was booked for a confrontation with Jude Bellingham as tensions boiled over. Dan Burn pushed forward as an emergency striker, Jordan Pickford launched long balls forward, but Emiliano Martínez gathered and Argentina held on. England's players collapsed to the turf at full-time, their tournament over.
Upcoming Matches (all times ET):
July 18, 5PM ET — England vs France (Third-Place), Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
July 19, 3PM ET — Spain vs Argentina (THE FINAL), MetLife Stadium, New Jersey