England were on the cusp of reaching their first men’s World Cup final since 1966.
They were 1-0 up against reigning world champions Argentina when the clock inside Atlanta Stadium ticked to 84 minutes – and then it all went horribly wrong.
Enzo Fernandez equalised with a thumping strike in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martinez headed a 92nd-minute winner – both goals coming from assists by Lionel Messi.
Just like that, England’s World Cup dreams lay in ruins.
They had worked so hard to take the lead through Anthony Gordon in the 55th minute – and then sat back and paid the price.
The decision by England boss Thomas Tuchel to go defensive backfired spectacularly.
Instead it is Argentina who go through to Sunday’s showpiece against Spain at New York New Jersey Stadium (20:00 BST kick-off).
But should England have gone for the kill when they went 1-0 up?
They did not – and had just 12% of possession from going ahead to conceding the second goal.
Tuchel only sent on forwards Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney deep into stoppage time, while defenders Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly were introduced after the Three Lions took the lead.
“We have crumbled,” former England captain Wayne Rooney told BBC Sport.
“It started from the manager and the decisions he made. It was too passive.
Also Read: Spain dump France ahead World Cup final
“Against this team, the world champions, you will not get away with it. This has been the biggest test and we have failed it.”
So why did England sit back when in control against Argentina? And are Tuchel’s second-half tactics to blame for England’s failure to make the final?
What went wrongÂ
England have showed character at this World Cup, coming from behind to defeat both DR Congo at the last-32 stage and Norway in the quarter-finals.
“The difference is hanging on against Norway or Mexico [in the last 16], they have not got the quality this Argentina team have got in terms of the ability on the ball and the ability they have to punish you,” former England captain Alan Shearer told BBC Sport.
“Tuchel played his cards very, very early and it has backfired.”
England looked to have taken full control of the semi-final against their old foes when Gordon put them ahead 10 minutes into the second half.
England’s fans celebrated wildly – but then the Three Lions opted to sit back and defend.
“The fact that England got themselves in front and then basically handed Argentina the initiative… that was a coaching catastrophe from Thomas Tuchel,” Chris Sutton, a Premier League winner with Blackburn in 1994-95, told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“You can’t expect to defend for 30 minutes against the quality Argentina had.
“It’s all on the coach where I am concerned. He made the changes. He was negative, so the question which I’m going to ask is ‘how can you trust Thomas Tuchel to take this team forward?'”
England have come undone against Argentina in the past.
Who can forget Diego Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal at the 1986 World Cup or the 1998 World Cup defeat that burns so deep.
England, however, have no-one but themselves to blame for Wednesday’s loss.
“Norway and Mexico panicked against England,” former England goalkeeper Joe Hart told BBC Sport.
BBC
