England suffered World Cup heartache today with two late goals in seven minutes from Argentina giving them a 2-1 win and a place in Sunday’s final against Spain.
Final Final - Spain v Argentina Monday at 5am
Lautaro Martinez scored a 92nd-minute winner as defending champions Argentina emerged from the jaws of defeat to stun England 2-1 en route to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
England appeared to track to reach their first World Cup final in 60 years thanks to Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute opener in Atlanta on Thursday (AEST).
Then, Lionel Messi’s Argentina turned the match on its head at the death – setting up a showdown with European champions Spain in the final on July 20 (AEST).
Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez equalised with a sensational long-range effort with five minutes of regulation remaining.
England could not stop Argentina, who completed the comeback in the second minute of stoppage time after Martinez headed home into the back of the net – leaving the Three Lions dejected.
Lionel Messi’s Argentina complete extraordinary comeback to reach back-to-back World Cup finals
… Antonio Rattin in 1966. Diego Maradona in 1986. David Beckham in 1998.
The matches are the stuff of soccer legend. And on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), Argentina and England return to the World Cup stage. But this time – for the first time – it will be a World Cup semi-final, a coveted place at stake in Sunday’s final against Spain, who beat France on Wednesday (AEST).
It will be a match resonant with both historical and soccer rivalry, going back decades.
The death this week of former Argentinian soccer player Rattin has revived memories of one of the earliest sporting disputes between the countries.
In 1966, the two met in a World Cup quarter-final match when England were hosting the tournament. Rattin, then his side’s captain, was expelled from the pitch. He grabbed at an English corner flag as he left, then sat on a red carpet intended for Queen Elizabeth, refusing to walk away. English fans threw cans of beer at him, he later said.
England and Argentina rekindle one of the World Cup's most heated rivalries when they meet in the semifinal in Atlanta, with Spain awaiting the winner.
Argentina fans are leaving little to chance ahead of the World Cup semifinal against England, placing captain Harry Kane's name in the freezer and faithfully repeating the rituals they believe bring the national team luck on the pitch.
The practices are part of Argentina's long tradition of 'cabalas' — superstitions fans believe can influence the team's fortunes.
As defending champions Argentina prepare to face England for a place in the final, supporters are clinging to routines they say helped deliver past victories.
Many refuse to say opponents' names, wear the same often-unwashed jerseys, sit in the same seats and eat the same meals before each match, convinced that changing anything could jinx the team's chances of lifting another trophy.
"My friends and I have a ritual," said 13-year-old Ines Mutri.
"We write the name of the star player and goalkeeper on the same piece of paper and freeze it in the freezer.
"This time we're going to freeze Kane because he's the top scorer."
In a country where football inspires a near-religious devotion, such rituals, fans say, offer a sense of control over a result that ultimately remains beyond their influence.
The tradition runs deep. Carlos Bilardo, the coach who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, became famous for elaborate superstitions like dictating the order in which they stepped onto the pitch, helping cement 'cabalas' in Argentine soccer folklore.
Even current coach Lionel Scaloni has acknowledged his own ritual.
"I step onto the field with my right foot and make the sign of the cross," he said during the tournament.
Some customs evolve with the times. During this year's World Cup, fans have shared AI-generated images on social media showing rival players frozen in blocks of ice, a symbolic way of preventing dangerous opponents from moving, scoring or making saves.
The idea has spilled into real life. Student Juan Pablo Calvo, 18, said he plans to freeze Jude Bellingham's name because he considers him "a tremendous player," though he remains confident in Argentina.
"Even though Messi has already won every trophy there is to win, this is a special opportunity because he's never faced England in a match like this, let alone in a semifinal," Calvo said.
Other fans say repetition is the most important 'cabala'. Once Argentina win, every detail of the day must be recreated for the next match: the same people, the same seat, the same shirt and, if possible, the same meal.
Mutri is watching with eight friends who wear the same hats and sit in the same places every game.
"I feel that the match against England is going to be a nerve-racking one, like all the others," she said.
"But it's going to be good. It's going to be fun."
Argentina’s World Cup built on ‘suffering’ faces its biggest test yet
Walk into an English pub anywhere in the world in the next 24 hours and you will not be able to get The Beatles’ classic ‘Hey Jude’ out of your head.
England veteran Jordan Henderson predicted before the World Cup began that Jude Bellingham would be the Three Lions’ “X-factor”.
No one would have predicted that the 23-year-old would take the tournament by storm, however.
Bellingham has willed England over the line in the knockout stages.
Back-to-back braces against Mexico and Norway will go down in English football folklore.
The first came in less than two minutes to silence the notoriously loud Estadio Azteca and set up one of England’s finest ever victories on the world stage.
The second came via an equaliser on the stroke of half time and then the match winner in extra time to break Norwegian hearts.
Norway and Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland summed it up best when asked about his former Borussia Dortmund teammate’s stellar performance.
“Real Madrid and England are lucky to have Jude Bellingham,” the goal scoring machine said.
“Sometimes they criticize Jude Bellingham for not scoring enough goals, but he does not deserve that criticism,” Haaland added.
“He’s a midfielder, and yet he still scores, goes forward, dribbles. He’s world class.”
