Argentina beat England 2-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Thursday morning, Australian time, scoring twice in the last five minutes of a World Cup semi-final England had controlled for an hour, and will meet Spain in Monday's final with the defence of their title intact.
Anthony Gordon put England ahead in the 55th minute, sweeping in Morgan Rogers' cross first time. The lead held until the 85th, when Enzo Fernandez drove in a long-range equaliser from Lionel Messi's pass. Deep in stoppage time, Messi crossed again and substitute Lautaro Martinez headed the winner at the back post. Messi, 39, assisted both goals.
“The first time my dad bought me a pair of boots, I always dreamed of scoring this goal," Martinez told SBS after the match. Coach Lionel Scaloni was briefer: "I'm lost for words. A great happiness for our country." Harry Kane spoke for the losers: "Just gutted, gutted for the boys, gutted for everyone.”
One more win makes Argentina the first side to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962. They have done nothing the easy way, needing extra time against Cape Verde and Switzerland and late goals against Egypt and now England. For England, the wait for a second men's final stretches past 60 years; their only one remains the 1966 title.
The night ended with a governance problem. After full-time, Giovani Lo Celso and Nicolas Otamendi held up a banner passed from the stands reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas", the Falklands are Argentine. The BBC reported Argentina face the prospect of FIFA disciplinary action; the laws of the game bar political slogans, and FIFA fined the Argentine federation 20,000 pounds for the identical banner in 2014. FIFA had issued no statement by Thursday afternoon, Australian time. The political charge predated kickoff: Argentina's Vice-President Victoria Villarruel had called England "usurping pirates" in a social media post before the game.
Spain arrive in a different state entirely. They shut out France 2-0 in Tuesday's semi through a Mikel Oyarzabal penalty and a Pedro Porro strike, are unbeaten in 37 official matches since March 2023, and have conceded once in seven games this tournament.
There is an Australian thread through this bracket. Egypt, the side that knocked the Socceroos out on penalties in the round of 32, came closer to beating Argentina than anyone until Thursday, losing 3-2 in the round of 16. The final kicks off at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey at 5am AEST on Monday, live on SBS, with England and France meeting in Miami for third place at the weekend.
