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England were desperate to protect their lead as the clock ticked down on their World Cup semi-final against Argentina. Coach Thomas Tuchel made alignment and strategy changes to build a wall in front of the goal.
Argentina and Lionel Messi simply knocked it over.
England led 1-0 late in the second half before Messi assisted on goals from Enzo Fernández in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martinez in the second minute of stoppage time to give Argentina a wild 2-1 victory on Wednesday and a place in the World Cup final against Spain.
Tuchel’s tactical choices in one of the biggest clashes in one of football’s biggest rivalries will likely be scrutinized and criticized for years to come. England missed their chance to return to the World Cup final for the first time since 1966.
“They won every header. They kept crossing and crossing. So we went five back to close the gaps inside and be stronger in the air,” Tuchel said.
“Right after our goal, without a substitution, we conceded far too many crosses and far too many chances. So we tried to help,” Tuchel said. “But of course the responsibility is on the coach. And… if it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to say it was bad.”
Tuchel’s chess moves could not contain Messi, the maestro of Argentina’s attacks. In the 38 minutes between England’s goal and Argentina’s winner, Argentina had 88% of the possession, according to Opta.
It was only the second time this century that a team scored first in a World Cup semi-final and failed to reach the final, according to Opta. The other missed lead was also England’s, in 2018 against Croatia.
England took the lead through Anthony Gordon’s goal in the 55th minute. But Argentina quickly turned the tide by putting furious pressure on the England defense.
To protect their lead, England moved closer and closer to their own goal, hoping to build the kind of impenetrable wall they had when they held on to beat Mexico in the round of 16 when reduced to 10 players.
Tuchel replaced defender Reece James with Dan Burn and midfielder Declan Rice with defender Nico O’Reilly in the 82nd minute.
“It’s disappointing to give away the space we had in the last 20 minutes,” England captain Harry Kane said. “It allowed not only (Messi) but also other players to grow in the game and feel more confident and send balls into dangerous areas. In the end, it was too much for us to stop.”
Fernandez struck just three minutes after the English substitutions, scoring with a precise right-footed strike from just outside the penalty area. Messi set up the play with a pass to his teammate, and England defenders failed to close him down before he ripped the shot past diving goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
The reigning champion continued to advance and the English wall continued to collapse. The Argentine hit the crossbar and missed another header in front of the mouth of the goal before Martinez sealed it with a close-range header when England defenders lost it to a Messi cross.
“They were tired,” Martínez said. “They insisted for 60 minutes, then ran out of steam. They scored their goal and then sat back. That gave us more composure to move the ball and stretch the pitch.”
England’s defense had received plaudits after previous matches, particularly for the way they dropped back in the second half of a 3-2 victory over Mexico in the round of 16, as El Tri peppered their opponents’ back line with cross after cross. But it came as England lost a player to a 54th-minute red card against Jarell Quansah.
Burn, the 2-meter (6-foot-7) defender who shined in that Mexico City stand, said Wednesday’s approach didn’t work.
“Off the ball, we probably defended a little too deep,” Burn said. “With the quality of the chances Argentina were creating, I felt like it was a matter of time. … Being 10 or 15 minutes away from the World Cup final, we probably should have gone all the way.”
Associated Press reporting.
