Argentina – England: Messi decides the Battle of Atlanta
One half of kicking, one half of football: Lionel Messi turned the semi-final against England with two assists – also because Thomas Tuchel was too anxious to change.
© Dan Mullan/Getty Images/Getty Images
World Cup semi-finals, England vs Argentina 1:2 (0:0)
Goals: Anthony Gordon (55th), Enzo Fernández (85th), Lautaro Martínez (90th + 2)
In any case. Before the game, war metaphors were used so heavily that Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni had to reassure: “It’s just a football game!” True, but it didn’t look that way in the first half. She was bad. First minute: Leandro Paredes pushes Jude Bellingham over. Second minute: Enzo Fernández elbows Elliot Anderson in the neck. Third minute: pack formation. So it went on. Almost every action ended in a foul, and someone was always lying on the grass. The ball wasn’t actually needed, it rolled around like a trivial matter. The statisticians counted eleven fouls up to the first drinking break alone, and those were only the ones in which referee Ismail Elfath from the USA intervened.