England v Argentina – World Cup 2026 semi-final result as substitute Lautaro Martinez heads stoppage-time winner to send the holders into the final

Substitute Lautaro Martinez struck a stoppage-time winner as holders Argentina returned to the World Cup final with a 2-1 victory over England that condemned the Three Lions to another heartbreaking loss.

Thomas Tuchel’s men looked to be on course to end a 60-year wait to progress from a World Cup semi-final when Anthony Gordon broke the deadlock with a smart finish from Morgan Rogers’ cross on 55 minutes.

It sparked what had been a fiery and tense stalemate into a thrilling contest as Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to move up several gears and lay siege to the England goal.

Jordan Pickford made a superb save to deny Nico Gonzalez, and Alexis Mac Allister hit the post with a header, before Enzo Fernandez took Messi’s pass and thundered a 25-yard leveller into the corner five minutes from time.

Messi then conjured up his second assist of the game in the second minute of stoppage time with a wonderful cross for Lautaro Martinez to head home after Mac Allister had again hit the woodwork.

La Albiceleste will now meet Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday, July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium. England will face France in the third-place final on Saturday.

There are just two occasions of a team scoring first in the semi-final but not reaching the final of the FIFA World Cup in the 21st century - both of them are England (vs Croatia in 2018 and Argentina in 2026).

Lionel Messi completed nine dribbles and assisted two goals against England - the first player on record (from 1966) to do so in a single FIFA World Cup knockout game.

"I'm gutted for the boys, I'm gutted for everyone, the team, the staff, the fans," Kane told the BBC.

"Yeah, we played a good game for the large majority of it. Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try and hold on, which at this level is not enough.

"Just gutted, because we've worked so hard to be here. The lads have given every last bit of running, sweat, blood, tears.

"We struggled to get pressure on the ball. I thought, especially first half and start of the second half, we pressed them well. We put them under loads of pressure, especially high up the pitch, which then allowed us to win balls, control the game a little bit better."

He continued: "After the goal, whether it was them putting more men forward or us just not being able to match them man for man, it just was wave after wave. We were trying to hold on, the lads were putting blocks in, but in the end it wasn't enough.

"The boys are always ready for any moment in the game. When we went ahead, the message was to go again and get another goal. Obviously, once they scored their two goals, it was to try and find something, but we couldn't find it back in the game."

Kane added: "We had a lot of good moments in this tournament. A lot of good games, another semi-final. We talked about knocking on the door. We're close, we just need to find that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament.

"These tournaments take it out of you with so much effort and pressure and mentality. We've shown a lot of that throughout the whole six, seven weeks we've been together.

"But we're just missing that final piece."

Hart on the BBC: "Mexico and Norway panicked when they went behind, but I didn't see one minute of panic from the Argentina side. I saw belief and they ran all over England."

Rooney on the BBC: "If you allow Messi to come onto you, and you allow Argentina to come onto you, you're asking for trouble. I thought England panicked. You can't go a goal up and surrender the ball. You have to be on the front foot. The pressure is on Argentina to get back into the game. If you let players of that quality get on the ball on the edge of the penalty box, sooner or later it will take its toll."

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"We all are [crushed]," Rooney said on the BBC.

"We got ourselves into such a good position, but then we didn't know what to do. We sat back and we cracked. When they got the first goal, it was inevitable they would get the second."

Agony for England, ecstasy for Argentina.

"The best team has won, we can't complain about that," he said on the BBC.

"We have to be open and honest. Their reaction was magnificent. They didn't panic, they stuck to their game plan and they did it. The manager's substitutions worked for Argentina. You have to respect the way they came back into the game."

Including two today, Lionel Messi now has 12 assists in FIFA World Cup matches, 10 of which have come in knockout rounds. No other player on record (from 1966) has more than eight in total at the finals.

Having won their first FIFA World Cup semi-final in 1966, England have now lost each of their last three matches at this stage (1990, 2018, 2026).

England 1-2 Argentina

The Three Lions are trying to pack the box but they look lost out there and there's no quality in that final third.

Pickford hoofs it down field in one last push, but Martinez comes to collect and wins a free kick. That will surely be that...

"Mac Allister has the shot, but it falls kindly for Argentina," he said on the BBC. "Messi recovers the ball, whips the ball in and no one was within three or five yards of Martinez. The manager's decisions have worked throughout the tournament, but his decision to go to a back five has backfired. It's not worked at all. They've been punished."

He added: "England have had no answer to the onslaught from Argentina, how quick they've moved it and their brilliance. They've just been camped inside their own half."

Toney on.

It's all or nothing for England now.

"We've got to get up there. We've got to get it in," said Shearer on the BBC.

Rashford on.

The Three Lions look numb.

It takes an age for the restart after the Argentine celebrations.

Can England muster one last chance?

Lautaro Martinez has surely won it.

Mac Allister hits the far post with a low shot but the holders keep it alive.

Messi dances to the right byline and hangs up a cross for super sub Martinez to nod home.

Nine minutes have been added.

Can England make extra time?

"Could they have got out to him (Fernandez) quicker? Look at the space in front of him. Having had five or six where he didn't get right, this time he does. What a strike. With the inside of the foot, to generate that sort of power to beat Pickford, it is a sensational strike."

Argentina sense blood and are pushing for a winner in normal time.

England can't hold on as Messi weaves in from the right and tees up Fernandez to arc another long range strike beyond the dive of Pickford.

Pickford tips Fernandez's 25-yarder over the crossbar.