Argentina has advanced to the World Cup final after mounting a dramatic late-game comeback against England on Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, winning 2-1 in a match that extended the defending champions' remarkable run of narrow escapes.
The victory marks the fourth consecutive knockout match in which Argentina has survived a perilously close contest. The team previously battled through extra time against Cape Verde, orchestrated a furious comeback after trailing Egypt 2-0, and outlasted a shorthanded Switzerland squad that forced extra time despite playing with ten men following a 72nd-minute red card.
England appeared poised to end Argentina's title defense when forward Anthony Gordon gave his team a 1-0 advantage in the 55th minute, tapping in a cross to silence the Argentine supporters who packed the Atlanta venue.
However, Argentina intensified their attack as the match progressed. After a series of near misses, midfielder Enzo Fernández delivered the equalizer in the 85th minute with a powerful strike from outside the penalty area that leveled the score at 1-1.
The decisive moment arrived during stoppage time when forward Lautaro Martínez headed home a cross from 39-year-old superstar Lionel Messi, sending the Argentine contingent into celebration and securing passage to Sunday's final.
Argentina will face Spain in the championship match, with Spain having defeated France 2-0 on Tuesday to reach their second World Cup final.
The match represented the sixth World Cup meeting between these historic rivals, whose football history includes Diego Maradona's controversial "Hand of God" goal during the 1986 World Cup. That tournament took place four years after the Falkland Islands war between the two nations, a territorial dispute that remains unresolved.
When asked about the infamous Maradona goal on Tuesday, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni offered a diplomatic response. "I think all of the world remembers that game, remembers Diego's performance, remembers above all the second goal," Scaloni told NPR.
England coach Thomas Tuchel downplayed the historical significance before the match. "We respect our opponent, but we don't dip in historic events, and we don't make it bigger than it is," Tuchel told reporters on Tuesday, according to NPR.
The contest featured aggressive play from both sides, with numerous collisions, physical tackles, and players hitting the ground throughout. Referee Ismail Elfath, the first American man to officiate a World Cup semifinal, issued yellow cards to both teams before halftime.
The first half proved defensively dominant, with neither team recording a shot on target and only three total attempts between them.
Inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the atmosphere reached deafening levels as thousands of Argentine supporters wearing white-and-sky-blue striped jerseys bearing Messi's name filled the stands. English fans countered in all-white or all-red jerseys honoring their stars Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.
Despite the presence of those attacking talents, England could not prevent another defeat, extending their wait to return to a World Cup final to 60 years. For Argentina, the victory keeps alive their quest to become the first team to win consecutive World Cup titles since Brazil accomplished the feat in 1958 and 1962.
