World Cup
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Argentina beat England 2-1 with late goals to reach the final

Mauro Tognacca
Argentina came back from behind
© Elsa/Getty ImagesArgentina came back from behind

With just one spot left in the 2026 World Cup final to be decided, the match between England and Argentina became a historic moment for both teams, with Argentina completing a 2-1 late comeback with goals from Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez.

In the first half, not much occurred, with both teams committing many fouls and focusing more on stopping their opponents than creating chances. Long passes were the way they tried, unsuccessfully, to create opportunities.

All the emotions of the match came in the second half. Even after England went ahead with Anthony Gordon’s goal, Thomas Tuchel brought on more defenders to maintain the lead, which did not work. A pass behind the defense found Fernández, who scored with a long-range shot in the 85th minute to tie the game. However, this was not the end, as Argentina kept pushing until a Lionel Messi cross found Martínez, who scored with a header in the 92nd minute to secure the victory.

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The match ends

90+12' The match ends.

Nine minutes of stoppage time added

90' Nine minutes of stoppage time are added.

GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL Lautaro Martínez scores for Argentina

90+2' Lautaro Martínez heads the ball into the net to equalize for Argentina.

John Stones wastes time for England

88' England continue trying to run down the clock as John Stones goes down pretending to be injured.

GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL Enzo Fernández scores for Argentina

84' Enzo Fernández scores from outside the box with a long-range strike.

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Reece James wastes time for England

81' England waste time as Reece James goes down pretending to be injured.

England make two substitutions

82' Reece James is substituted off and Dan Burn comes on. Declan Rice also leaves the pitch and Nico O'Reilly replaces him for England.

Lautaro Martínez replaces Nicolás Tagliafico for Argentina

80' Nicolás Tagliafico is substituted off and Lautaro Martínez comes on for Argentina.

Nicolás González comes close with header for Argentina

77' Nicolás González gets a header on goal, but it goes just wide.

Alexis Mac Allister hits the post for Argentina

75' Alexis Mac Allister's header hits the post.

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Argentina make three substitutions

72' Nahuel Molina is substituted off and Gonzalo Montiel comes on. Lisandro Martínez is replaced by Nicolás Otamendi, and Giuliano Simeone makes way for Rodrigo De Paul.

England and Argentina resume play

71' The match resumes after the hydration break.

Ezri Konsa replaces Anthony Gordon for England

71' Anthony Gordon is substituted off and Ezri Konsa comes on for England.

Nicolás González's header saved by Jordan Pickford

68' Nicolás González gets a header on target, but Jordan Pickford makes the save for England.

Hydration break

68' The referee calls for a hydration break as the players take a pause.

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Declan Rice tests Emiliano Martínez for England

65' Declan Rice takes a long-range shot, but Emiliano Martínez makes the save.

Nicolás González replaces Leandro Paredes for Argentina

63' Leandro Paredes is substituted off and Nicolás González comes on for Argentina.

Enzo Fernández shoots wide for Argentina

60' Enzo Fernández takes a long-range shot that goes wide.

GOAAL Anthony Gordon scores for England

54' Morgan Rogers delivered a cross into the box, and Anthony Gordon touch it home to give England the lead.

Cristian Romero receives a yellow card for Argentina

51' Cristian Romero is shown a yellow card.

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Julián Álvarez misses chance for Argentina

47' Julián Álvarez had a chance inside the box but his shot went straight at Jordan Pickford.

England and Argentina begin second half

The second half begins.

England and Argentina reach halftime

45+3' The first half comes to an end.

Added time announced

45' Three minutes of added time are indicated.

Lisandro Martínez receives a yellow card for Argentina

41' Lisandro Martínez is shown a yellow card.

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Enzo Fernández tests England from distance

38' Enzo Fernández takes a long-range shot that goes just wide.

Elliot Anderson receives a yellow card for England

37' Elliot Anderson is shown a yellow card.

England and Argentina look to bypass pressure

30' Both teams are looking to play long balls to get past the opposition's pressing.

The match resumes after hydration break

26' The match resumes after the hydration break.

Hydration break

23' The referee calls for a hydration break as the players take a pause.

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Reece James creates danger for England

18' Reece James created danger down the right with a low cross that Emiliano Martínez intercepted.

England and Argentina exchange possession

12' Both teams are exchanging possession as the match remains evenly balanced.

Physical start

8' There have been plenty of fouls in the opening minutes of the match.

England control possession early

4' England have controlled possession in the opening minutes of the match.

Kickoff

The match between England and Argentina begins.

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The referees

The referees for this match are Ismail Elfath (United States, main referee), Corey Parker (United States, assistant referee 1), Kyle Atkins (United States, assistant referee 2), Maurizio Mariani (Italy, fourth official), Daniele Bindoni (Italy, reserve assistant referee), Tomasz Kwiatkowski (Poland, video assistant referee), Dennis Higler (Netherlands, assistant VAR) and Guillermo Pacheco (Mexico, support VAR).

The next rival

The winner of this match advances to the final against Spain on July 19 at 15:00 at New York / New Jersey Stadium.

Their campaigns

England won Group L after beating Croatia, drawing with Ghana and beating Panama, before defeating DR Congo 2-1, Mexico 3-2 and Norway 2-1 in extra time. Argentina won Group J with victories over Algeria, Austria and Jordan, before beating Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time, Egypt 3-2 and Switzerland 3-1 in extra time.

Confirmed lineups

England: Pickford; James, Stones, Guehi, Spence; Rice, Anderson; Rogers, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane.

Argentina: E. Martinez; Molina, Romero, Li. Martinez, Tagliafico; Paredes, Mac Allister, Fernandez; Simeone, Messi, Alvarez.

The stadium

The venue for this match is Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It has a capacity of 71,000.

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Welcome!

Welcome to live coverage of the match between England and Argentina.

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