England’s dream of reaching the World Cup final came to an end in Atlanta after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Argentina.
The Three Lions were hopeful of a second World Cup final appearance in their history, but a gallant comeback performance from the South Americans put the epitaph on their grave.
Thomas Tuchel’s men came into the game as the favourites, having beaten the likes of DR Congo, Mexico, and Norway in previous rounds.
England have not been dazzling in the knockout stages of the competition. They first scraped a late win against DR Congo thanks to a brace from skipper Harry Kane.
Their most impressive win came against Mexico at the Azteca when they had to defend a 3-2 lead for the vast majority of the second half due to a red card for Jarell Quansah.
England saw off a Norway team that had beaten Brazil in the round of 16 before booking a date with Argentina.
Just like the Englishmen, Argentina had to settle for three late winners against teams like Cape Verde, Egypt, and Switzerland in the previous rounds.
Many believed that Tuchel and his men had the chance of beating the defending champions to set up a date with Spain in the final.
England seemed to be on course to achieving that goal when they took the lead through Anthony Gordon, just ten minutes into the second half.
Lionel Messi inspired a comeback for La Albiceleste to book a place in the final on Sunday.
He first set up Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández, who sent a thumper past Jordan Pickford in the 85th minute.
The former Barcelona superstar repeated the magic seven minutes later. This time he whipped in the ball with his weaker foot, which was headed home by Inter Milan’s marksman Lautaro Martínez.
England failed to muster a response as Lionel Scaloni’s men ran down the clock.
Next up for England is a game against France on Saturday for the third-place game.
