Sometimes a lack of courage comes at a high price. And that is exactly what happened to Thomas Tuchel’s England side against Argentina. In a match typical of a World Cup semi-final – fraught with tension due to the history between the two sides and the stakes involved – the first half saw more scrambles than passes. Every metre had to be fought for tooth and nail.

In the second half, spaces began to open up, and in England’s best move of the match, Gordon beat Molina to the ball to finish off a fine cross from Rogers on the right with precision. Only ten minutes had passed since the restart, but England were enjoying their best spell of the match and had achieved the hardest part: taking the lead.

That’s when Thomas Tuchel started to panic. Instead of going out to seal the victory, the England manager sent a clear message to his players after the second-half advertising break: they had to focus on defending and forget about attacking. This was evident in his substitutions, as with twenty minutes remaining he took Gordon off and brought on Konsa, a defender. Furthermore, with five minutes to go, he brought on Burn and O’Reilly, ending up playing with a back five.

England’s results at the 2026 World Cup

• England 4–2 Croatia
• England 0–0 Ghana
• Panama 0–2 England
• England 2–1 Congo
• Mexico 2-3 England
• Norway 1-2 England
• England 1-2 Argentina

Future up in the air

With that message sent by Thomas Tuchel to his players through his substitutions, England ended up pinned back in their own half. And Argentina capitalised on it. The reigning champions shook off their fear and went in search of the win. Leo Messi began to make his presence felt and the Argentines created a string of chances, such as Mac Allister’s header that crashed against the post. It was a warning, as the equaliser soon followed from a shot by Enzo Fernández from the edge of the box.

At that point, there were five minutes remaining plus stoppage time, but the score remained unchanged. England were pinning their hopes on extra time, whilst Argentina looked the better side and, unlike the English team in their finest moments, went in search of victory. Mac Allister hit the post again, and from the rebound in the same move, Messi produced a brilliant piece of play and delivered a pinpoint cross to the head of Lautaro Martínez, who scored Argentina’s second goal in stoppage time.

There were still seven minutes left to play and Tuchel desperately brought on Toney and Rashford, but it was too late. The German manager’s timidity proved costly for England, who will now face France in the third-place play-off. Argentina, by contrast, will play in the 2026 World Cup final thanks to a majestic Messi and Scaloni’s courage when he could have been content with extra time.

Remaining matches of the 2026 World Cup

• France - England (18/07 22:00 Third-place play-off)
• Spain - Argentina (19/07 20:00 Final)