Football
Associated Press

Argentina beat England to reach World Cup final

7:00am
The first half saw numerous confrontations in a robust encounter.

Argentina came back from a goal down to knock England out of the World Cup.

The South Americans will meet Spain in the final on Monday morning NZT.

It was goalless at halftime in the World Cup semifinal in Atlanta. Anthony Gordon then gave England the lead, before Argentina hit back with two late goals to win 2-1.

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The first half was marked by few chances and plenty of robust challenges.

Reporting from Boxpark Croydon in London, 1News Europe Correspondent Kate Nicol-Williams described tense scenes, with plenty of nail-biting. Nicol-Williams said it was the "most subdued" she had seen England fans.

Meanwhile, in Auckland, 1News Sport Reporter Bonnie Jansen said a watch party with Argentina fans was "pretty quiet" and "nervous".

Both teams made key changes for the match.

England fans gather in Auckland to watch their team's semi-final World Cup bout with Argentina.

England coach Thomas Tuchel called in Morgan Rogers in place of Noni Madueke on the right wing and also handed starts to Reece James and Djed Spence in defence.

Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly were benched.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni made just one change, picking Gio Simeone in midfield ahead of Rodrigo De Paul.

The lineups

England: Jordan Pickford; Reece James, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Djed Spence; Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham; Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane.

Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico; Gio Simeone, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez.

A fierce rivalry

The game sees England and Argentina resume one of the fiercest rivalries in international football.

The two teams meet in Atlanta and the winner will play Spain in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday.

Referee Ismail Elfath of the United States shows a yellow card to England's Elliot Anderson (8) during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina in Atlanta.

“I mean the two shirts are just iconic and the historic matches are iconic,” Tuchel said.

The World Cup rivalry between the nations dates back to 1962, but it was England's 1-0 win in the quarterfinals four years later that saw it intensify. Argentina captain Antonio Rattin, whose death was announced on Saturday, was sent off in a bad-tempered match. England went on to win the World Cup for the first, and still the only time, in its history.

Twenty years on in Mexico, Diego Maradona scored the infamous “Hand of God” goal that helped Argentina to a 2-1 win in the quarterfinals on the way to becoming world champion for a second time.

That game also saw Maradona score what many believe to be the greatest World Cup goal ever when he dribbled the ball from the halfway line before beating England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

“That will be forever in our hearts. It was just such a beautiful goal,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “Anybody who loves football will remember that in the best way possible.”

England felt aggrieved again in 1998 when David Beckham was sent off for kicking out at Argentina midfielder Diego Simeone before losing the round-of-16 game on penalties.

Beckham got his revenge four years later by scoring a penalty in a 1-0 win that contributed to Argentina being eliminated at the group stage.

Given the heated rivalry, Tuchel has tried to manage the emotions of his players ahead of the semifinal.

“If a fixture provides so many iconic moments you cannot just say it’s just another football match, but as a coach we do exactly that,” he said. “We don’t speak about the historic events. We don’t speak about the iconic moments.”

Argentina's Giuliano Simeone (17) heads the ball over England's Elliot Anderson (8) during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina in Atlanta,

Route to the semifinals

Neither team has had a smooth ride to the semifinals.

Argentina survived scares against Cape Verde and Egypt earlier in the knockout rounds and needed extra time to beat 10-man Switzerland 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

England had to rally for wins against Congo and Norway after going a goal down. It also endured a physically exhausting game played at altitude, and being down to 10 men, to beat co-host Mexico 3-2 in the round of 16.

Messi vs. Kane and Bellingham

The seemingly ageless Lionel Messi has been Argentina's talisman once again, scoring eight goals and also providing crucial assists.

England has relied on its big hitters in Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Both have six goals so far, with Bellingham scoring twice in each of England's last two games.

- with 1News

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