England's World Cup wait stretches to 64 years after Argentina defeat
Anthony Gordon put England ahead in Atlanta, but late goals from Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez sent Argentina to the final and pushed England’s title wait toward 64 years.
Argentina’s late surge in Atlanta turned England’s brightest World Cup opening into another night of almost. Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute goal had put England within sight of a first men’s World Cup final since 1966, but Enzo Fernández levelled and Lautaro Martínez struck the stoppage-time winner to send Argentina through 2-1.
The defeat leaves England in a harsher place than the familiar pain of 1990 and 2018. Those semi-final exits, against West Germany and Croatia, were bitter enough on their own, but this one collapsed after England had the lead and the match appeared to be drifting toward a final against Spain at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Instead, England’s path was cut off in the final minutes, and the chance to turn a one-goal advantage into a historic breakthrough disappeared late.
England’s World Cup wait now stretches beyond six decades. They have not reached a men’s World Cup final since winning the tournament in 1966, and by the time they next get a shot at one, that gap will have reached at least 64 years. FIFA described this as England’s fourth men’s World Cup semi-final, a list that also includes the runs of 1966, 1990 and 2018, and this latest loss only deepened the sense that the national side keeps finding the same ceiling at the same stage.
The Argentina tie also dragged one of football’s fiercest rivalries back into the spotlight. England and Argentina had met in the World Cup before in 1966, 1986, 1998 and 2002, with the Maradona “Hand of God” in Mexico and David Beckham’s red card in 1998 among the defining images of the matchup. This semi-final added another chapter, but one defined less by a single controversy than by England’s inability to hold their shape when the game was there to be won.
After the match, Thomas Tuchel said England “gave everything” and defended the players’ mentality. Harry Kane was blunter, saying the team did not keep its level after taking the lead. England now move on to face France in the third-place playoff, but the larger damage is already set: a clear route to Sunday’s final slipped away in stoppage time, and with it another chance to end the long wait.
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