England’s World Cup dream ended in dramatic fashion as Argentina came from behind to secure a late 2-1 victory in their semi-final clash.
The Three Lions made the perfect start by taking an early lead, but defensive-minded changes and a gradual retreat handed Argentina greater control and allowed them to build sustained pressure.
La Albiceleste eventually made that momentum count, completing the turnaround late on to book their place in the final.
Argentina will now face Spain for the trophy, while England must regroup ahead of their third-place play-off against France.
Here are our Scout Notes from Wednesday’s semi-final, featuring match stats from our World Cup Toolkit page.
ENGLAND 1-2 ARGENTINA
- Goals: Fernandez, Lautaro | Gordon
- Assists: Messi x2 | Rogers
- Tackles bonus: Paredes | Anderson
- Top points scorers: Gordon (9), James (9), Messi (8), Fernandez (8), Lautaro (8), Rogers (7)
TEAM STATS
PLAYER STATS
SCOUT NOTES
- England made three changes to the side that beat Norway 2-1 after extra time. At the back, Djed Spence ($4.5m) replaced Nico O’Reilly ($4.7m) at left-back. Reece James ($5.2m) also returned at right-back in place of Ezri Konsa ($4.8m). There was another change further forward, too, as Morgan Rogers ($7.2m) started on the right wing ahead of Noni Madueke ($6.1m) and Bukayo Saka ($9.5m).
- Argentina had faced rumours of several possible changes after their win over Switzerland. However, Lionel Scaloni made just one alteration to his starting XI. Rodrigo De Paul ($5.9m) dropped to the bench, with Giuliano Simeone ($5.6m) taking his place.
“It hurts to leave Rodrigo on the bench… I identify a lot with the way he plays.”
“We do what we think the match needs.” – Lionel Scaloni
- The overall match statistics suggest Argentina deserved their victory. They dominated possession with 64% of the ball, produced 1.59 xG (expected goals), created two more big chances and registered 10 more attempts than England.
- However, the numbers only tell part of the story. The first half lacked quality in the final third and offered very few clear-cut chances. Instead, the game became a scrappy, stop-start affair. Elliot Anderson ($6.5m) and Lisandro Martínez ($4.6m) both entered the referee’s book, although 19 first-half fouls suggested several more yellow cards could easily have followed.
- England finally broke the deadlock early in the second half. Rogers whipped an inviting cross into the box, where Anthony Gordon ($7.0m) got across his marker before steering the ball beyond Emiliano Martínez ($5.0m) to make it 1-0.
- That goal proved to be the turning point. Rather than pushing for a second, England gradually dropped deeper and allowed Argentina to dominate possession. Thomas Tuchel also switched to a back five after Argentina changed shape, but the move failed to halt the momentum. The South Americans continued to build sustained pressure and eventually completed the comeback.
“Unfortunately and strangely enough it marked then complete momentum switch in the game.
“Argentina played with more risk, played with more rhythm… they have nothing to lose anymore… which freed them up and hold us back because we obviously played suddenly with a feeling that we have a lot to lose.
“We dropped immediately back into a deep block.” – Thomas Tuchel
- A stop-start first half limited England’s attacking threat. As a result, Harry Kane ($10.5m) and Jude Bellingham ($8.3m) struggled to influence the game. However, Rogers strengthened his case to keep his place after providing the assist for England’s opener. Meanwhile, Gordon extended his impressive run to four consecutive attacking returns, keeping him firmly on the Fantasy radar.
- The official FIFA Fantasy game has now confirmed that the third-place play-off, as expected, will count towards Fantasy scores.
- But will the Three Lions rotate for this glorified dead rubber? Tuchel offered very few clues about his starting XI for the third-place play-off during his post-match press conference, although did admit it’s not a game anyone wants to play.
“Nobody of these players… wants to play this match. They want to play in the final.
“We will do it professionally… we have to bounce back. That’s what is demanded and what we will do.” – Thomas Tuchel
- Fortunately for Fantasy managers, the starting line-ups for England v France will be available before the final deadline, allowing managers to react before locking in their teams.
- As for Argentina, they struggled to create sustained pressure for the first hour of the contest. However, England’s defence-oriented changes shifted the momentum, and Lionel Scaloni’s side took full advantage.
- As many expected, Lionel Messi ($10.0m) played a decisive role in the comeback. Like several of Argentina’s other star players, he struggled to influence the first half. His first big contribution came with a dangerous cross from the right, but Nicolás González ($5.6m) saw his close-range header well saved. However, Messi continued to create chances and eventually unlocked England’s defence. He attracted several defenders before laying the ball off to Enzo Fernández ($7.5m), who fired home from outside the box to level the score. Later in the game, Messi delivered another inviting cross, which Lautaro Martínez ($8.8m) powered into the net with a header to complete the turnaround.
- Several other Argentina attackers also threatened. Julián Alvarez ($8.6m) came closest during the first half, forcing an excellent low save from Jordan Pickford ($4.8m) before drilling the rebound into the side netting.
- Alexis Mac Allister ($6.6m) also enjoyed another encouraging attacking display. He forced Pickford into a close-range save with a header before later striking the post.
- Alongside his goal, Enzo Fernández remained a threat throughout. He narrowly cleared the crossbar with a first-half effort from distance before forcing a fine save from Pickford after another powerful strike from outside the box. His tally of four shots was a game-high.
- Argentina eventually completed the comeback, but there were still a few concerns. Their defence once again failed to keep a clean sheet, while their attack struggled to create clear-cut chances until England retreated deeper after taking the lead.
- La Albiceleste did, at least, suffer no apparent fresh injury concerns.
