For days before England faced Argentina in the World Cup semi-final, the old dread had been rising like damp through a wall. The match was never merely a football match. It ended badly.
The loss reignites a history laden with trauma. In 1966, a goalless quarter-final at Wembley saw Argentine captain Antonio Rattín sent off and refusing to leave the pitch. Twenty years later, Diego Maradona knocked England out with two goals, one scored with his hand. “It was as if we had beaten a country, not just a football team,” Maradona said, the Falklands War four years gone. “We knew they had killed a lot of Argentine boys there, killed them like little birds. And this was revenge.”
“England's World Cup loss to Argentina revives old ghosts, but a crop of youngsters offers hope for 2030.”
Now Harry Kane may have played his last World Cup, and the nation is trapped in a shared malaise. But there is a refrain: “Fear not, because things might be better in the future.” Six youngsters, drawn from Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool, are being tipped to help Thomas Tuchel change England’s fortunes by 2030.
Rio Ngumoha, the Liverpool winger, impressed when Arne Slot let him off the bench and was one of the brightest sparks in England’s warm-up matches. Max Dowman, who broke records as the youngest Premier League winner and youngest Premier League player and scorer, offers energy on the wing or as an attacking midfielder. Archie Gray, still only 20 but with a full Championship campaign for Leeds and regular Tottenham appearances, brings versatility across midfield and defence – perfect for tournament football plagued by injuries. Myles Lewis-Skelly could shore up an ageing defence.
It is time to stop dwelling on defeat and move forward. The group has two faces: the collective effervescence that lifts strangers into a single body, and the dread that failure will repeat. But one line endures: “There is always 2030.”
