Argentina came from behind in the final minutes to defeat England 2-1 this Wednesday in the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup, held at the , and secured a place in the tournament final.
The match started with physical intensity and yellow cards in the first half: Anderson (England) received a yellow card in the 37th minute, followed by L. Martínez and Romero from Argentina in the 42nd and 51st minutes, respectively.
It was A. Gordon who opened the scoring in the 55th minute with a goal in regular time to put England ahead, a lead that was maintained for a large part of the second half.
Argentina responded with a wave of tactical changes from the 64th minute and clearly dominated the final segment of the match statistically: 65% possession, 15 shots compared to five by the English, and six corners against one.
The albiceleste pressure resulted in goals when the match seemed to be slipping away. Enzo Fernández equalized in the 85th minute, and in added time, Lautaro Martínez —who had re-entered the field in the 81st minute— sealed the 2-1 win in the 90th minute, sparking the Argentine celebration.
Martínez's goal came after a series of substitutions that transformed the Albiceleste team: De Paul, Montiel, Otamendi, and Martínez himself entered in the 72nd minute, and their impact was decisive in the outcome.
England, which reached the semifinals for the first time since 1990, tried to respond by bringing on Burn, O'Reilly, Toney, and Rashford in the 82nd and 90th minutes, but could not avoid elimination.
The World Cup history between the two teams, which had not faced each other in a World Cup since 2002, now adds a new Argentine victory in a decisive stage.
With this result, Argentina advances to the final of the 2026 World Cup, where they will face Spain next Sunday, July 19, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. La Roja reached the final after defeating France 2-0 on Tuesday in the other semifinal. The reigning world champion, who secured the title in Qatar 2022, will seek to win back-to-back championships, a feat achieved only by Italy (1934-1938) and Brazil (1958-1962).
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