England's destiny is tournament heartbreak. The only question concerns when it comes and how the fates will contrive to make it as painful as possible. This was an implausibly brutal new low.
Thomas Tuchel’s team had fought fire with fire in a fractious first half, with Jude Bellingham colliding with Lionel Messi during a physical encounter. The possibilities seemed endless for England when Anthony Gordon put them in front shortly after half-time, with a first World Cup final appearance since 1966 looking likely.
“Argentina scored twice in the last four minutes to beat England 2-1 in the World Cup semi-final, with Tuchel admitting his defensive substitution backfired.”
But Tuchel sought to preserve the lead in the final quarter, switching to a back five by bringing on Ezri Konsa for Gordon as a right-sided centre-half. The head coach had successfully seen out a 3-2 win against Mexico in the last 16 with five defenders when down to 10 men, but there was no repeat here. The tactical shift invited Argentina to press on the front foot, and they dominated the closing stages.
Argentina equalised in the 86th minute when Enzo Fernández scored with a fierce drive after a short corner via Lionel Messi. England were floored before they could stagger into extra time. They thought they had escaped when Alexis Mac Allister sent a low shot against the post — his second hit on the woodwork — but Messi recycled the move on the right, jinked and crossed deep. Lautaro Martínez, unmarked, headed home to break English hearts.
Tuchel accepted responsibility for the substitutions backfiring. Despite the defeat, the German will stay on as England boss, with the Mirror reporting that he is to remain in charge.
England still have a bronze medal match against France on Saturday. The prize money depends on the result: victory guarantees $29m (£21m), while a fourth-place finish earns $27m (£20m). These figures are part of an unprecedented $871m (£644m) total prize pool, increased by 15% by FIFA.
The bronze final will be officiated by a familiar Venezuelan referee who has previously taken charge of both England and France matches at a World Cup.
For England, the only question now is how they will recover from yet another tournament heartbreak — and whether third place can dull the pain.