England had been here before.
A deserved lead in the World Cup semifinal. A first final since 1966 is on the horizon. Then came the retreat. England sat back, handing the initiative to the opposition by surrendering possession. The opponent duly punished them. Final score: England lose 2-1.
This was not July 15, 2026 at the Atlanta Stadium. It was Moscow, 2018.
Three years later, there was the European Championship final on home soil. An early goal which got Wembley rocking. With a first major trophy in 55 years was within sight, the familiar pattern kicked in and you know the rest.
Thomas Tuchel was the man hired to right the wrongs of the past. England was banking on his big-game, tournament nous to take it over the line.
Once again, the Three Lions had a platform to get over the line.
England scraped and clawed against Argentina before hitting a goal on the break in the 55th minute to rattle the defending champion. There was still more than 35 minutes left with Argentina, which had both its centre-backs on yellow cards, waiting to be picked off. Tuchel still had the luxury of Eberechi Eze, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Ollie Watkins on the bench to call upon.
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Yet, as the afternoon unfolded, England retreated once again, inviting Argentina with the world’s best player, Lionel Messi, in tow, to break its defence down. The first warning sign flashed when Jordan Pickford pulled off a point-blank save from a Nico Gonzalez header to preserve the advantage.
Rather than relieving the pressure, Tuchel’s first change only reinforced it. He took off his goal-scorer Anthony Gordon for centre-back Ezri Konsa in the 72nd minute to change to a back five as Argentina continued to pin England down. Four minutes later, Alexis Mac Allister hit the post with another header.
While Tuchel’s counterpart, Lionel Scaloni, brought on striker Lautaro Martinez, England’s dual top-scorers Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane lacked support and runners to play their way out of their own half.
The game state called for someone like Kobbie Mainoo, a ball-progressor to play through the press to alleviate some pressure, or Saka’s pace to expose Argentina’s high defensive line. Instead came left-back Nico O’Reilly for Morgan Rogers, who set up the opening goal, and Azteca’s cult hero Dan Burn for midfielder Declan Rice.
Lionel Messi led Argentina’s revival by setting up both his side’s goals. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
In the lead-up to the game, Tuchel had insisted that his side was not in Atlanta to ‘build a throne’ for Messi. Yet, with his reactionary subs, England put the 39-year-old on a pedestal, allowing him to dictate the game unchallenged. In the 86th minute, Messi slipped Enzo Fernandez into space for him to slide in the first dagger.
Argentina found its voice again. It was its 11th goal after the 75th minute of this World Cup, and now it was on the prowl. The threat level read critical for England, and everyone knew what was coming, but Tuchel offered no solution to stop this onslaught. Mac Allister struck the woodwork again before Messi conjured more magic to set up substitute Martinez to head home the winner.
Nothing felt more inevitable than that moment as from Gordon’s opener in the 55th minute to Martinez’s go-ahead goal in the 92nd, England had an average possession of just 12% with 21 touches in Argentina’s half and just one inside the penalty box.
With his best-laid-plans shot to pieces, Tuchel threw on Marcus Rashford, who had warmed the bench in the last two games, and Ivan Toney for his first minutes of this World Cup to save England’s fading hopes, but there wasn’t to be any redemption.
For England, these were supposed to be the mistakes of the past, when Gareth Southgate’s passiveness cost England at the final hurdles. But, here in Atlanta, all that was missing was a tailored waistcoat on Southgate’s German successor.
Tuchel defended his defensive substitutions, saying he had ‘no regrets’, but outcomes in big matches often tend to be decided by managers who can assert themselves with bravery and conviction.
Spain offered the perfect contract in the other semifinal. When Spain took the lead in the 22nd minute, Luis de La Fuente’s side didn’t abandon its principles and cede control to France. It continued to exert its philosophy; dominating possession and stifling France’s star-studded attacking quartet, before scoring a superb team goal to double its lead in the second period. France didn’t lay a glove on Spain, ending the game with an xG of 0.31.
That’s the difference between champions and nearly men. While Spain set out to win, England tried desperately to not lose. The latest capitulation means England now has the unwanted distinction of being the only World Cup semifinalist from this century to take the lead twice and still taste defeat.
As England’s wait for a trophy continues, it will leave with another painful reminder that playing not to lose is sometimes the quickest way to lose.
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Published on Jul 16, 2026