England’s men’s national team suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals, with a late turnaround seeing the holders progress to the final. The Three Lions, who had dominated the tournament in the group stages and produced resolute displays in the previous two rounds, were unable to see out the game, conceding two late goals to Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez.
The defeat will be a painful memory for the England players, with Dan Burn summing up the feelings of his team-mates. “Gutted,” said the Newcastle defender. “Absolutely gutted. We nailed the gameplan pretty well. To go 1-0 up… then we got too passive, conceded too many crosses and too many chances. When you’re playing a team of that quality, it is going to cost you. This will haunt me for a long time, I think.” England had been on the cusp of a World Cup final appearance, but their inability to see out the game will leave them to wonder what could have been.
The defeat is a similar story to that of 2018, when Croatia came from behind to knock England out of the semi-finals. England’s captain, Harry Kane, reflected on the game, saying “When you’re so close, 10 minutes away, and it slips out of your hands like that, obviously the lads are devastated. We did so well for 60 minutes. We scored and deserved to be ahead then we struggled to keep the ball, struggled to put pressure on the ball and it allowed them to create more momentum and chances in the final third.” Kane, who has scored six goals at this World Cup, refused to be drawn on his future with the national team, saying “It’s too early to talk about that – for me it’s about taking it year by year.”
England’s head coach, Thomas Tuchel, was also disappointed with his team’s performance, saying “We went 1-0 up but it totally turned the momentum in their favour. They took all the risks after. They played totally free after that with all the risks and a lot of quality. They made offensive substitutions and suddenly had four players in the forward line and we couldn’t stop the crosses. We couldn’t stop the runners in the box. We were basically not physical enough. We couldn’t win duels and we couldn’t get hold of the ball. It was a total momentum shift from our goal.” Despite the defeat, Tuchel retains the backing of the Football Association and is expected to lead the team into Euro 2028.
The defeat will leave England to regroup and prepare for Saturday’s third-place play-off against France. The game will be a chance for the Three Lions to redeem themselves and finish the tournament on a high note. Despite the disappointment of their semi-final defeat, England’s players and staff will be determined to make the most of their remaining time at the World Cup.
Source: Yahoo Sports