Lionel Messi twisted the knife at full-time as he claimed that England ‘didn’t want’ to win a place in the World Cup final after their heartbreaking defeat to Argentina in Atlanta.
The diminutive playmaker captained his side to a 2-1 win after Enzo Fernandez sparked a late comeback with his 85th-minute equaliser.
But it was Lautaro Martinez who extinguished any faint hope of pinching something in extra-time with his goal in the 92nd minute, which booked Argentina their second-consecutive chance to claim the trophy in New York.
After the final whistle, Messi reserved praise for the Argentina fans inside the stadium, but added that he believed the last-gasp victory had stemmed from their opponents’ dwindling fight.
‘We felt a lot of emotion, and when we were drawing, we needed the support of the fans, because we saw that we could win it in 90 minutes,’ he said.
‘Because we already had the goal, because we entered through the inside, the outside, because we created opportunities with crosses, through line passes, through the inside.
Lionel Messi claimed that Argentina had been the ones who wanted to win a place in the World Cup final – not England
The national team captain celebrated wildly with his side in front of the fans holding a banner supporting Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands
‘And we felt they didn’t want it anymore and we just kept coming, that’s why after the 1-1, the crowd helped us again once more, and as I said, we are happy because it was a close match.
‘We always want to win, and also because it takes us to play another World Cup final.’
Thomas Tuchel has come under heavy criticism for his tactics following Anthony Gordon’s opening goal in the 55th minute, with the manager bringing on a raft of defensive substitutes to see out the game.
Gordon, Reece James and Declan Rice were exchanged for Ezri Konsa, Nico O’Reilly, and Dan Burn, reshaping England’s midfield and leaving them with little room to foment attacking threat in case of Argentina equalising.
When Argentina duly did, Tuchel waited until the dying minutes of injury time to throw on Ivan Toney and Marcus Rashford in place of defensive options John Stones and Djed Spence – but it was too little, too late.
World Cup-winning goalkeeper with Spain Iker Casillas described the decision as ‘cowardly’ from England, while Chris Sutton claimed that Tuchel had suffered a ‘coaching catastrophe’.
On his Overlap podcast the following morning, Gary Neville suggested that captain Harry Kane should have been the one subbed off, with players who could become the sharp point of a potential counter-attack like Rashford on in his place.
Neville’s viewpoint about the defensive changes was echoed by former England team-mate Ian Wright, who said: ‘For me, he’s made substitutions that are not attacking, they’re defending.
‘For a manager that’s been as brave as he’s been with the selections from the start, with the players that he’s brought in, were the selections and the substitutions he made up to this point positive in that game?’
Speaking post-match, Tuchel insisted he had ‘no regrets’ with his second-half tactics and said England played their ‘best game’ of the tournament on Wednesday.
Despite not getting on the scoresheet on Wednesday evening, Messi still found himself in the headlines after the Inter Miami star became embroiled in a testy exchange of words with Jude Bellingham.
Messi was earlier in the match involved in a testy discussion with Jude Bellingham
It came after players from both teams were involved in an altercation after a foul, with the duo seemingly in a charged conversation for several moments.
Messi was then captured staring at Bellingham’s retreating back after the England star walked away from him, before making a sarcastic gesture which seemed to imply he disagreed with the Real Madrid man.
The former Barcelona star was also captured dancing alongside a banner unfurled by members of the Argentina squad which laid claim to the Falkland Islands.
FIFA has yet to comment, but the governing body is under huge pressure to punish Argentina for flouting its rules with an incendiary banner backing the country’s claim to the Falkland Islands.
Manchester United and Tottenham are being urged to punish players who participated in the stunt, including Spurs’ captain Cristian Romero, and Lisandro Martinez.
Twelve years ago, the team carried the same banner at an international friendly and was fined just £20,000.
But there are growing calls for the players who carried the banner at a match of such magnitude – watched by an estimated 950 million people worldwide – to face tougher sanctions.
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