Argentina continued to nurture hopes of defending the World Cup championship after a dramatic comeback against England in the semi-finals. Despite being led for most of the second half, coach Lionel Scaloni's team still showed bravery to win 2-1, thereby winning the right to meet Spain in the final.
England seemed to have ended 60 years of waiting to participate in the World Cup final when Anthony Gordon opened the score right at the beginning of the second half. After the goal, the "Three Lions" retreated deep to preserve the advantage, while Jordan Pickford continuously made excellent saves to deny Argentina's chances.
However, the non-stop pressure of the defending champion finally brought results. In the 85th minute, Enzo Fernandez launched a dangerous long-range shot that defeated Pickford, bringing the match back to the starting line. Just 3 minutes after entering injury time, Lautaro Martinez headed in a goal from Lionel Messi's assist, completing a spectacular comeback.
The victory once again shows the value of experience in the World Cup arena. Argentina maintained composure in difficult times, knowing how to wait for opportunities before launching a decisive blow. Messi continued to prove his class when reading the match excellently, creating space for Fernandez to score an equalizer before assisting Martinez to seal the victory.
Not only the players, coach Lionel Scaloni also made his mark with reasonable personnel adjustments. Although he once caused controversy when retiring Rodrigo De Paul from the field, the 48-year-old strategist quickly corrected his mistakes with changes in the second half. Putting Lautaro Martinez on the field in the final stage became a turning point to help Argentina make a difference.
In the opposite direction, England once again missed the World Cup final. After impressive victories against Mexico and Norway, Thomas Tuchel's team is only a few minutes away from the final match. However, choosing a playing style that is too defensive after the opening goal caused the "Three Lions" to lose control of the match.
Instead of strengthening the attack when the players started to lose strength, Tuchel continuously fielded defenders such as Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O'Reilly to protect the score. Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney were only given opportunities when Argentina took the lead, making these adjustments no longer very meaningful.
That scenario evokes the failures of the England team in previous major tournaments, when they repeatedly lost the advantage in the final minutes. From the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia to the EURO 2020 final, the "Three Lions" could not preserve their achievements when they retreated too deep to defend.
Besides Messi, Enzo Fernandez is the most prominent name on the Argentina side. The Chelsea midfielder was energetic, constantly putting pressure on the England midfield and creating influence throughout the match. The equalizing goal in the 85th minute was not only meaningful in terms of score but also opened up a comeback for Albiceleste.
Alexis Mac Allister also had an impressive performance when controlling the midfield well and threatening the opponent's goal many times. The midfield duo helped Argentina maintain continuous pressure, creating a foundation for the South American team to win.
Defeating England, Argentina advanced to the World Cup final for the second consecutive time under Scaloni. In front of Messi and his teammates will be a challenge named Spain in the race for the world championship.
