England’s World Cup dream ends in heartbreak as Sheffielder’s share their thoughts on where it went wrong
England’s World Cup adventure ended with a 2-1 defeat to holders Argentina in the semi-final
England were left heartbroken with their World Cup dreams destroyed as Argentina struck twice in the space of seven minutes to come from behind and win a dramatic semi-final in Atlanta.
It was in many ways a familiar tale to the semi-final loss against Croatia eight years ago, with the Three Lions striking first and taking the early initiative before retreating as their opponents took the impetus.
Thomas Tuchel’s side were largely in charge of the game during the first half and took the lead courtesy of a fine cross from Morgan Rogers which was finished off expertly by fellow winger Anthony Gordon.
However, from there England tapered off, with Jordan Pickford producing a series of excellent saves, before being beaten by a long-range effort from Enzo Fernandez.
Lionel Messi, who was kept quiet during the first hour of the contest, assisted the goal and turned provider once again in the dying moments of the contest as his pinpoint cross was headed home by substitute Lautaro Martinez in the 92nd minute.
It means England’s 60-year wait for a trophy continues, with many of those out in the bars and fan parks in Sheffield travelling home disappointed.
But what went wrong for Tuchel’s side in Atlanta? We asked our readers to share their thoughts and this is how they responded.
Judie Burke kicked off the discussion by questioning England’s desire to go out and get a second goal and build on their early momentum.
She said: “What England doesn't understand is that winners play to win, whether they are winning or losing.
“You can't "defend", because by definition that is a response to an attack. And whoever controls the attack, controls the defence, controls the strategy. The best players and teams always keep to an attacking strategy, suited to their strengths, and make the enemy chase.”
It’s often claimed in football that attack can be the best form of defence, and that view was echoed by Simon Magava, he commented: “Parking the bus against Messi with 30 minutes to go was pure diabolical.”
Peter Butcher highlighted England’s poor habit of allowing leads to slip. They famously took the lead against Croatia through a Kieran Trippier free-kick in 2018 before suffering defeat, and also went a goal up in the Euro 2020 final through Luke Shaw before falling short against Italy on penalties.
He said: “Every tournament - score, sit too deep, concede two and lose!”
In an alarming statistic, England had just 12% possession of the ball after taking the lead through Gordon in the 55th minute. According to Opta, that is the lowest by a team to be winning for at least 10 minutes in a World Cup match in the last 60 years.
Mally Young added: “Sat deep trying to see it out. That lost us the game.”
John Fawley said: “Sit back like that and you are asking for trouble, you could see the goals coming.”
Linda Binks joked that the TV show The Simpsons had already worked out how this one was going to pan out.
She commented: “My Grandson told us all before it started that Argentina and Spain will be in the final. As it was predicted in the show The Simpsons a long time ago. Sadly he was completely correct.”
Others were slightly more supportive of England’s performance. Not just in this game, but across the tournament as a whole.
It’s worth noting that England since 2018 have reached two World Cup semi-finals and two European Championship finals - marking their most productive eight-year period since being crowned winners in 1966.
Elizabeth Steadman said: “You’ve done your best England.”
Jayne Shaw replied: “Exactly, 3rd or 4th out of 48 teams is nothing to be ashamed of.”
Jamie Tomlinson added: “Always next time.”
England still have one more game to play at the tournament: a third-place play-off against fellow losing semi-finalists France on Saturday. The match will likely be an opportunity for Tuchel to experiment with his selections and give opportunities to some of the individuals that haven’t played many minutes throughout the competition.
From there, most football fans will then turn their attention to the World Cup final before returning to the week-to-week focus of cheering on their respective club teams.
Tuchel signed a two-year contract extension ahead of the World Cup, and will now be tasked with trying to assemble a group that is capable of competing for glory on home soil in the upcoming Euro 2028 tournament.