England vs Argentina: A Semifinal Lost in the First Two Minutes
Leandro Paredes fouled Jude Bellingham with an elbow inside the first two minutes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and neither team spent the next 90 finding its calm. Argentina came out swinging, literally at times, and England let themselves get pulled into the fight instead of playing through it.
The pattern was set early. After a tackle on Lionel Messi went unpunished, Enzo Fernández clattered into Elliot Anderson, and Bellingham led the English players who rushed in to confront him, Yahoo Sports reported. It was pushing and shoving rather than punches, but it told you everything about how this semifinal was going to be played. Not with the ball, at least not at first.
Referee Ismail Elfath let most of it go. Anderson picked up the match's first yellow card in the 37th minute for a foul on Messi, and that was as far as Elfath was willing to go for long stretches of a half that produced 19 fouls, according to GB News. Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson didn't hold back afterward. "That's one of the worst refereeing performances I've seen at this World Cup," he said, per Yahoo Sports. "He didn't get a grip of the game from the start."
Discipline, not the scoreline, decided it
Anthony Gordon put England ahead in the 55th minute, and for half an hour it looked like the composure argument might not matter. Then Argentina turned the physicality that had gone unpunished all game into leverage. Fernández bent in an equalizer from distance in the 85th minute off a Messi assist, and Martínez headed home the winner in injury time, completing a 2-1 comeback confirmed by NPR.
England's composure didn't survive the final whistle either. Bellingham was pulled into another confrontation after full time, reportedly sparked by Argentina substitute Valentín Barco celebrating in front of the England bench, per GB News. A team that had held its structure for 78 minutes unraveled in the last twelve, on the scoreboard and off it.
Argentina didn't out-play England for most of this semifinal. They out-lasted England's patience, and a referee who refused to draw a line let them do it on their terms.
