England –
Argentina – 1:2 (Gordon, 55 – Fernandez, 85, Martinez, 90+2).
If Anthony
Gordon's 1-1 assist to Jude Bellingham helped the British return to the game in
the England-Norway match, then his goal gave the Argentines hope of reaching
the finals, which did not materialize...
At the same
time, Ismail Elfat, a Moroccan with an American passport, a 44-year-old native
of Casablanca, who refereed this semi-final, is considered a convenient referee
for Messi, because Inter Miami won all the matches in MLS with his refereeing.
Already at
the start of the match, the British could have scored against the Argentines at
the moment of the ball from the standard played by Declan Rice. The ball landed
on John Stones' head, but he missed the goal. Jude Bellingham, a Real Madrid
player, successfully turned his back in the style of Lamin Yamal, but
fortunately for the Argentines, he was dropped outside the penalty area.
Bellingham himself curled a direct shot into the goal, but Jordan Pickford
coped.
In general,
the accuracy of the British was not very good, out of five shots on goal, only
two flew into the frame and one flew in. The Argentines shot 14 times, of which
five hit the target and two flew in. The statistics, however, were for Messi.
Watch
Lionel holding the ball alone, surrounded by several players in the center of
the field! And Elliott Anderson has to take the ball away from Messi at the
cost of a yellow card. Enzo Fernandez struck dangerously from the standard, but
the ball whistled past the corner of the goal.
At the
beginning of the second half, Julian Alvarez broke through to Pickford's goal,
but Jordan managed to deflect his shot. And then Nicholas Tagliafico
unsuccessfully interrupted the long-range advance in the fall. The ball from
his foot flew into Declan Rice's legs. The Arsenal midfielder rolled Morgan
Rogers to the flank and the Aston Villa winger shot towards the goal, where
Barcelona rookie Anthony Gordon successfully flew out from behind the defender
and gracefully stuck his foot out.
Although
Harry Kane, the captain of the Three Lions and the Bayern goalscorer, claimed
after the match that Thomas Tuchel did not set the score, the coach's actions
suggest otherwise. In the 72nd minute, he swapped forward Anthony Gordon for
defender Ezri Konsu, then in the 82nd minute, he swapped defender Rhys James
and midfielder Declan Rice for defensive players Daniel Bern and Nico O'Reilly.
However,
the Tuchel bus could not hold back the onslaught of Lionel Scaloni's armada.
Because the first signal of the all-in move was the exit of forward Nicolas
Gonzalez instead of midfielder Leandro Paredes. Yes, the defensive line was
refreshed in the second wave, but in the 81st minute, instead of defender
Tagliafico, Inter captain Lautaro Martinez came out. This move made the
difference. And in the 72nd minute, Messi's partner at Inter Miami came out
instead of Giuliano SimeoneRodrigo De Paul. It was also a homemade preparation.
Although
the first return goal was scored by Chelsea winger Enzo Fernandez. First, he
checked Pickford with a long-range shot under the crossbar, Jordan dragged. But
then, almost from the same point, after a low pass from Messi, he shot poor
Pickford without compassion with an accurate shot into the corner of the goal.
Messi's genius came up with this goal.: he did not hang the top of the corner
flag, but rolled it down to Rodrigo De Paul, got it back, and then also brought
Enzo Fernandez down into the middle of the penalty area, whom no one was
holding. All eyes of the British were riveted on Messi, and the magician did
not hit himself, but rolled out the combination.
Then, in
the 90th minute, Alexis McAllister charged into the far post, but this did not
bother Messi, who coolly ran to pick up the ball to come up with another move.
He swung the ball to the far post, where a fresh-faced Lautaro Martinez sent
the ball into the goal with a nod of his head. Game set match! Something like
that.
The genius
of two Lionels, Scaloni and Messi, has successfully coincided here. They came
up with and implemented their own homemade preparations. While Thomas Tuchel
was not ready for a change of scenery. I don't think the 96th-minute exit of
Ivan Toney and Marcus Rashford instead of defenders John Stones and Jed-Hotep
Spence was a home-made idea. Rather, it was a gesture of desperation.…
Let's see
what Scaloni and Messi will come up with for the final against Spain, where the
great inventor Luis De La Fuente is also in charge. It will be interesting to
watch the duel of football strategists. Although couch experts are only foaming
at the mouth about the duel between Messi and Yamal, this is by no means
serious. Where is Messi now and where is Yamal?
Argentina's
coach, Lionel Scaloni, a 48-year-old guy from Pujato, did not take titles as a
player, but he went through a thorny path in the Argentine national team from
assistant coach, became head of the coaching staff in 2018, won the Copa
America 2021, then the 2022 World Cup, 36 years after the 1986 World Cup in
Mexico, and now he is close to defending the title.
Well, first
we'll see how France and England will face off in the World Cup bronze medal
match. Here let's argue who will be cooler – Killian Mbappe or Harry Kane.
Although I'm not sure that this victory will bring these guys closer to this
year's Golden Ball.…
