Defeat will ‘haunt’ England as history repeats itselfFigure caption, ‘No regrets’ – Tuchel on England’s defeat against ArgentinaByMichael EmonsBBC Sport journalistPublished15 minutes agoFor the second time in eight years, England’s men led a World Cup semi-final. But for Croatia in 2018, read Argentina in 2026.
England went ahead in the 55th minute of Wednesday’s game in Atlanta, when Anthony Gordon finished from Morgan Rogers’ cross.
But late goals from Enzo Fernandez and – in the second minute of injury time – Lautaro Martinez meant the Three Lions missed out on their first men’s World Cup final appearance since 1966.
And Dan Burn, who was roared on to the field as a second-half substitute with the score 1-0, summed up the feelings of the England players.
“Gutted,” reported the Newcastle defender. “Absolutely gutted.
“We nailed the gameplan pretty well. To go 1-0 up… then we got too passive, conceded too many crosses and too many chances.
“When you’re playing a team of that quality, it is going to cost you. This will haunt me for a long time, I think.”
England had produced resolute displays in the previous two rounds – beating Mexico 3-2 in the last 16 despite playing most of the second half with 10 men, then hanging on to defeat Norway 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
Asked why they had been unable to continue that run against the holders, Burn reported: “I don’t know.
“It is human nature [to be nervous] when you’re that close to doing something you haven’t done since ’66 and be in a final.
“Argentina have done that and got that confidence. The last few games we have been able to defend the box so well. We thought we could do that again, but we weren’t as tight in the box as we would have liked.”
England must now prepare for Saturday’s third-place play-off against France (22:00 BST), which will be live on the BBC.
“I am still very proud of what we have done at this World Cup,” reported Burn.
“I don’t think anyone really gave us a chance. We have done a lot of good, and honestly I thought we were going to do it.”
