- Safiu Kehinde
Argentina has again pulled another dramatic comeback to reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final
The defending champions recorded a 2-1 victory against England at the Semi-Finals on Wednesday to book the final ticket.
The first-half saw both teams fairly sizing each other up with no goals scored at both ends.
Things however looked promising for England who maintained their offensive play against defending champions, neutralising their attacking threats.
This would pay off for the Three Lions as they took the lead courtesy Anthony Gordon’s 54th minute goal.
Gordon latched home a low drive pass from Aston Villa forward, Anthony Rodgers to put the Thomas Tuchel-led side upfront.
England protected their lead until the second-half hydrating break.
With barely 20 minutes away from a place in the final, the Three Lions decided to park the bus as Tuchel introduced Dan Burn and O’Reily to strengthen the defense.
This however proved to be the genesis of a disastrous end for England as Argentina mounted pressure on the defence.
With the defending champions having most of the possession, they pressed against England’s packed defense making repeated crosses into the Three Lions box.
This eventually paid off as the Argentines as Chelsea’s midfielder, Enzo Fernandez, blasted a shot from outside the box in the 84th, beating England’s goalkeeper, Pickford.
The goal appeared to have destabilised England side.
For Argentina, it was another drive for their famous comeback stride as they relentlessly searched for a winner.
The defending champions eventually replicated the comeback stint as Lautaro Martinez headed home a cross from Messi to give the defending champions 2-1 lead in the 92nd minute.
Late double susbstitution by Tuchel proved futile as the damage was already done before his introduction of Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney.
Argentina booked the final showdown against Spain as the game ended in 2-1.
For England, they will face France for the third-place match on Saturday.