England and Argentina fought for the last remaining spot in the FIFA World Cup final. Argentina made yet another comeback against England in the closing minutes to clinch a 2-1 win. Argentina is seeking to win their second consecutive World Cup trophy after winning the previous World Cup final against France back in 2022.
The reigning world champions were at risk of elimination as England made several counterattacks on Argentina throughout the match. England forward Anthony Gordon scored the first goal of the match at the 55th minute to take a 1-0 lead.
Danny Chacon, an England fan attending a watch party at the Olde Ship British pub in Fullerton, was hopeful about England continuing their path in the World Cup as a team that was favored to beat Argentina.
“I truly believe that in order for England to keep going on that success is to get lucky at the right moment and rely a little bit on that superstar power,” said Chacon. “The rest of the team is doing fine, I’ve seen Anthony Gordon doing fine, but on their set pieces they need to do a little bit better.”
Argentina responded five minutes before the 90th minute when midfielder Enzo Fernandez scored off an assist from Lionel Messi to tie the game 1-1. The match went to nine minutes of stoppage time, and defender Lisandro Martinez scored the winning goal to send Argentina to another World Cup final.
It marks the first time that a team wins back-to-back World Cup titles since Brazil accomplished the feat in 1962.
Mike Barges, an Argentina soccer fan that watched the match with his family at Roscoe’s Famous Deli, was excited to see Messi take the team to another World Cup final.
“They are a wonderful team and I love their country,” said Barges. ” I came with my family that has always rooted for Argentina and we can’t wait for another World Cup title.”
Argentina and England have a rivalry that dates back to the 1966 World Cup and is considered one of the most hostile in football. The rivarly featured many controversial and dramatic tensions between both teams. Before the match began, crowds at Atlanta Stadium booed both national anthems, drawing a lot of frustration and backlash online.
It was a tough loss for England as they sought their first championship appearance since 1966.
Argentina came into this tournament with a 3-0-0 record winning all group stage matches against Algeria, Austria and Jordan. They outlasted Cape Verde and Egypt in the Round of 32 and 16 with 3-2 wins. Argentina’s previous game was against Switzerland in the quarter-finals where they came out victorious 3-1 in extra time.
Argentina will face Spain in the World Cup final Sunday, July 19 at noon, while England will face France in the third-place match Saturday, July 18 at 2 p.m.
