Argentina have secured their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final after staging a dramatic comeback to defeat England 2-1 in a thrilling semi-final encounter.
The reigning champions showed their resilience after falling behind, scoring twice in the closing stages to overturn England’s advantage and set up a mouth-watering final clash against Spain.
The semi-final remained goalless for most of the opening period, with both sides creating opportunities without finding the breakthrough.
Argentina came close in the 39th minute when Enzo Fernandez unleashed a powerful long-range effort, but his strike narrowly missed the target and went over the crossbar.
After the restart, Julian Alvarez tested England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the 47th minute after reacting quickest to a loose ball inside the penalty area. However, Pickford stayed composed and made a comfortable save.
England eventually broke the deadlock in the 55th minute. Morgan Rogers delivered a precise lofted cross into the box, allowing Anthony Gordon to finish with a quick strike into the bottom-left corner to give England a 1-0 lead.
Argentina continued pushing for an equaliser and nearly levelled the score in the 69th minute, but Pickford produced an outstanding save to deny Nicolas Gonzalez’s low header after a dangerous cross.
Their persistence paid off in the 85th minute when Enzo Fernandez restored parity. The midfielder collected Lionel Messi’s pass on the edge of the box before firing a composed effort into the left side of the net to make it 1-1.
With extra time approaching, Argentina completed the turnaround in stoppage time. In the 90+2nd minute, Messi delivered another decisive contribution, sending a brilliant cross into the box for Lautaro Martinez to head into an empty net and seal a famous 2-1 victory.
The victory sends Argentina into the World Cup final, where they will face Spain in a highly anticipated showdown for football’s biggest prize.
Meanwhile, England will have to settle for a third-place play-off against France, who were eliminated in the other semi-final game against Spain on Tuesday night.
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