England fall 2–1 to Argentina in World Cup semi-final

England out, Argentina through to the final

The dream is over. England lost 2–1 to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, knocked out in brutal fashion (1) (2). Lautaro Martinez and Enzo Fernandez scored for Argentina. Your team rallied, as they have all tournament, but this time there was no comeback. Lionel Messi faced England for the first time in his career and Scaloni's side reached a fifth consecutive semi-final, and now a final. A victory parade in London had been quietly planned. That will have to wait.

Tuchel: 'As soon as you lose, you get criticised'

Thomas Tuchel did not dodge the questions. He substituted Anthony Gordon, a move that drew scrutiny, and afterwards was blunt: "As soon as you lose, you get criticised" (2). Tuchel defended his decisions from the semi-final defeat but the debate is already under way about whether he got the big calls wrong.

Durham points the finger at Arsenal

Adrian Durham went hard on Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice after the exit. "Bukayo Saka should be a key player for England, nowhere to be seen today. Was he actually fit? Did he say he was fit when he wasn't fit? It's a wasted player at this tournament, in my opinion" (3). Durham is questioning whether Arsenal's management of both players' fitness cost England when it mattered most.

Bookies already naming Tuchel's successor

Tuchel is expected to stay, but the betting markets have already moved. Eddie Howe and Pep Guardiola lead the odds to be the next England manager, with Mauricio Pochettino, Lee Carsley, Gareth Southgate, and Graham Potter also in the frame (4). Unai Emery, Kieran McKenna, Frank Lampard, and Steven Gerrard are longer shots. All of this before the dust has even settled on the semi-final.

Fan reactions

The mood is raw. One post breaking down England's knockout record against top-10 teams this millennium (2 wins, 8 losses) is already doing the rounds on r/soccer. Michael Owen's post-match analysis has fans nodding along, with one user saying the loss "was more than just mistakes by Tuchel." Enzo Fernandez's long-range efforts are getting a forensic rewatch too. See the discussion on r/soccer