ATLANTA – England desperately wanted to protect its lead as time was winding down in its World Cup semifinal against Argentina. Coach Thomas Tuchel made lineup and strategy changes to build a wall in front of the goal.
Argentina and Lionel Messi simply kicked it down.
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England led 1-0 late in the second half before Messi assisted on goals by Enzo Fernández in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martínez in the second minute of stoppage time to give Argentina a wild 2-1 victory Wednesday and a spot in the World Cup final against Spain.
Tuchel's tactical choices in one of the biggest matchups in one of soccer's biggest rivalries will likely be scrutinized and criticized for years. England missed its chance to return to the World Cup final for the first time since 1966.
“They won every header. They kept crossing and crossing. So we went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be stronger in the air,” Tuchel said.
“Straight after our goal, with no substitutions, we just conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances. So we tried to help,” Tuchel said. “But of course the responsibility is on the coach. And … if it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to say that it was wrong.”
Tuchel’s chess moves couldn’t contain Messi, the maestro of Argentina’s attacks. In the 38 minutes between England's goal and Argentina's winner, Argentina held a whopping 88% of the possession, according to Opta.
It was only the second time this century that a team scored first in a World Cup semifinal and failed to reach the final, according to Opta. The other blown lead was also by England, in 2018 against Croatia.
England took the lead on Anthony Gordon's goal in the 55th minute. But Argentina quickly switched the momentum with furious pressure on England's defense.
To protect the lead, England drew closer and closer to its own goal, hoping to build the sort of impenetrable wall it had when it held on to beat Mexico in the round of 16 despite being down to 10 players.
Tuchel swapped defender Reece James for Dan Burn, and midfielder Declan Rice for defender Nico O’Reilly in the 82nd minute.
“It’s disappointing to give up the space that we did in those final 20 minutes,” England captain Harry Kane said. “It allowed not just (Messi), but the other players to grow into the game and feel more confident and ping balls into dangerous areas. In the end, it was too much for us to stop.”
Fernandez struck barely three minutes after the England substitutions, scoring on a precise right-footed strike from just outside the penalty area. Messi set up the play with a pass to his teammate, and England defenders failed to close him down before he ripped the shot that curled past diving goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
The defending champion kept coming and England's wall kept crumbling. Argentina hit the crossbar and missed another header across the mouth of the goal before Martínez sealed it with a close-range header when England defenders lost him on a cross from Messi.
“They got tired,” Martínez said. “They pressed for 60 minutes and then just ran out of steam. They got their goal and then sat back. That gave us more composure to move the ball around and stretch the pitch.”
England’s defense had earned plaudits after previous matches, especially for how it hunkered down during the second half of a 3-2 win over Mexico in the round of 16, as El Tri peppered their opponent's back line with cross after cross. But that came as England was down a player due to a 54th-minute red card on Jarell Quansah.
Burn, the 6-foot-7 (2-meter) defender who shined during that stand in Mexico City, said Wednesday's approach did not work out.
“Off the ball, we defended probably a little bit too deep,” Burn said. “With the quality of chances that Argentina were creating, I felt like it was a matter of time. ... To be 10 to 15 minutes away from the World Cup final — we really probably should have seen that through.”
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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.
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