Argentina came from behind to beat England and book their place in the World Cup final against Spain on Sunday.
A stunning strike from Enzo Fernandez, a brace of assists from Lionel Messi — Argentina showed why they are defending world champions. It almost seemed inevitable that they would crawl their way back into it.
From 1-0 down in the 85th-minute, to 2-1 winners by the time the final whistle blew. It’s just the second time a team has scored first in a World Cup semi-final and not advanced.
And history suggested Argentina would get it done. The only other time it happened this century: England vs Croatia in 2018.
On that occasion, Kieran Trippier scored in the first five minutes, before Ivan Perisic equalized in the second half and Mario Mandzucic won it for the Croats in extra time.
England loss was self-inflicted
Thomas Tuchel’s approach to the second half didn’t help steer fate away. Rather than lean on the elite talent littered throughout the squad to try and put the game beyond doubt, they sat in.
It was a negative approach, hoping to mimic the win against Mexico.
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Bringing on Nico O’Reilly and Dan Burn altered the makeup of the side massively. They sat in a low block, and were bombarded. Once Fernandez equalized, England looked lost for ideas on how to take the game to the opposition.
They invited Argentina on, and they were punished.
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