‘Pathetic!’ - Leandro Paredes slammed for reaction to Harry Kane covering his mouth during England's agonising World Cup defeat to Argentina

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Joe Hart was quick to call out Leandro Paredes after some late drama in the first half of England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina, which ended in an agonising 2-1 defeat for Thomas Tuchel's side.

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The first half was a tempestuous affair, with two yellow cards handed out by referee Ismail Elfath and 19 fouls committed.

One of these late in the first half led to an Argentina free-kick in the England half - with both teams seeing their players surround the ball.

As the referee restored order, England captain Harry Kane briefly covered his mouth to speak to Elfath, something that remains in the rules.

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Covering your hand to speak to another player during a confrontation is a sending off offence - something Paraguay's Miguel Almiron found out the hard way when he was the first player dismissed in a World Cup for that particular offence earlier in the tournament against Turkey.

Almiron covered his mouth when speaking to Mert Muldur, and was shown a straight red card.

But Kane was speaking to the referee, which is a different scenario. Not that that bothered Paredes, who was quick to point out the incident and gesture towards the England captain.

And Hart was quick to condemn the actions of the Argentine midfielder.

"Pathetic. [Kane] was talking to the referee, he was trying to be clear. It is so difficult to communicate out there," Hart explained in the BBC studio.

"Harry Kane is just trying to have a personal conversation with the referee. I get it, they are going to do anything they can to win this game… but come on, just win the game by scoring more goals."

With the game locked at 0-0, and shots at goal limited in the extremis, the match was threatening to turn bad-tempered, with players regularly hitting the deck as the fouls mounted.

But one thing was certain - Kane had not committed an offence in speaking to the referee. The Bayern Munich star was not booked, with the referee waving away Paredes before allowing Argentina to take their free-kick, which eventually amounted to nothing.

"I just think it is ridiculous," added Wayne Rooney when he watched the incident back.

England were the first team to break the deadlock, Anthony Gordon scoring in the 55th minute. But late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez booked Argentina a place in the final.

The Three Lions were bidding to reach their first World Cup final since 1966, having lost their last two semi-final appearances in 1990 and 2018.

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They came into the match off the back of a spirited win over Mexico, and a tight victory over Norway.

Argentina will play Spain in Sunday's final, who saw off France in the first semi-final.

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