{"id":2725,"date":"2026-07-16T16:52:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.latania.co.uk\/blog\/FOOTBALL\/?p=2725"},"modified":"2026-07-16T16:53:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:53:00","slug":"england-v-argentina-atlanta-mercedes-benz-stadium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.latania.co.uk\/blog\/FOOTBALL\/2026\/07\/england-v-argentina-atlanta-mercedes-benz-stadium\/","title":{"rendered":"England v Argentina, Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz) Stadium"},"content":{"rendered":"
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All the talk of 86 and 98 but we were there in 2002 for the win against Argentina in Sapporo – if we played to our strengths surely we could win again…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arriving at lunch time the day before the match we watched the other Semi in a decent sports bar (very quiet but just another Tuesday afternoon work day in Atlanta). Great Ted’s Steak House later but it was obvious we would be outnumbered on Match Day by the Argies.
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FIFA World Cup 2026 \u2013 Semi-final<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

England 1 Argentina 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venue:<\/strong> Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Attendance:<\/strong> 68,239
Date:<\/strong> Wednesday 15 July 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

England:<\/strong> Anthony Gordon 55\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Argentina:<\/strong> Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez 85\u2019, Lautaro Mart\u00ednez 90+2\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

England<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jordan Pickford; Reece James, John Stones, Marc Gu\u00e9hi, Djed Spence; Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson; Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane (captain).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Substitutes used:<\/strong> Curtis Jones, Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen, Levi Colwill, Morgan Gibbs-White.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Argentina<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emiliano Mart\u00ednez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Mart\u00ednez, Nicol\u00e1s Tagliafico; Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez, Alexis Mac Allister; Giuliano Simeone, Lionel Messi (captain), Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Substitutes used:<\/strong> Lautaro Mart\u00ednez and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match report<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

England\u2019s dream of reaching a first World Cup final since 1966 was shattered by two devastating late Argentina goals in Atlanta as the reigning champions snatched victory in dramatic fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas Tuchel\u2019s side produced one of their finest displays of the tournament. After a disciplined first half in which chances were limited, England took a deserved lead ten minutes after the restart. Jude Bellingham drove England forward before Anthony Gordon finished confidently to spark jubilant celebrations among the travelling supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

England continued to defend superbly for much of the second half, with John Stones and Marc Gu\u00e9hi outstanding at the heart of the defence while Jordan Pickford made several important interventions. Harry Kane worked tirelessly up front and Bellingham once again dictated much of England\u2019s attacking play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with just five minutes remaining, Argentina found the breakthrough they had been searching for. Midfielder Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez struck a superb effort beyond Pickford to level the scores and swing the momentum decisively in the South Americans\u2019 favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extra time appeared inevitable until Lionel Messi produced one final moment of brilliance in stoppage time, releasing Lautaro Mart\u00ednez, who finished coolly to complete a remarkable comeback and send the holders into Sunday\u2019s World Cup final against Spain. England, heartbroken after coming within touching distance of the showpiece, must now regroup for Saturday\u2019s third-place play-off against France. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match statistics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possession:<\/strong> England 42% \u2013 58% Argentina
Shots:<\/strong> England 8 \u2013 14 Argentina
Shots on target:<\/strong> England 3 \u2013 6 Argentina
Corners:<\/strong> England 3 \u2013 7 Argentina
Result:<\/strong> England eliminated; Argentina advance to the World Cup Final against Spain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All the talk of 86 and 98 but we were there in 2002 for the win against Argentina in Sapporo – if we played to our strengths surely we could win again… Arriving at lunch time the day before the match we watched the other Semi in a decent sports bar (very quiet but just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2212,"url":"https:\/\/www.latania.co.uk\/blog\/FOOTBALL\/2026\/07\/england-v-dr-congo-atlanta\/","url_meta":{"origin":2725,"position":0},"title":"England v DR Congo, Atlanta","date":"2 July 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Stifling heat and humidity so the covered Atlanta Stadium was very welcome. 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