2 min readAug 6, 2026 05:16 PM IST
The Argentine Football Association announced that July 15 will now be celebrated as ‘National Football Teams Day’ to commemorate the La Albiceleste’s 2-1 semifinal win against England at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In the fixture, Argentina came back from a goal behind against England to book a final against Spain.
Argentina looked like they would join last World Cup’s finalists France out of the tournament till the 85th minute when they were trailing to an Anthony Gordon goal. But then Enzo Fernandez scored a long-range strike to level the scores. And when it looked like the game was destined for 30 more minutes of added time with the score level at 1-1, Lautaro Martinez headed the ball into the net in the second minute of extra time to give Argentine the win.
In both of Argentina goals, it was Lionel Messi who racked up an assist each. Argentina, in fact, could have scored more goals. Twice in the game, Alexis Mac Allister was denied a goal by the upright. England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was also spectacular for most of the game, pulling off some incredible saves.
Earlier, the deadlock was broken by Gordon, who completed a move to Barcelona from Newcastle United before the start of this World Cup. It was an inch-perfect cross from Morgan Rogers in the 55th minute that Gordon turned into the back of the net to put England 1-0 ahead. Just seconds later, full back Djed Spence prevented Giuliano Simeone from getting the equaliser for Argentina with a perfectly timed sliding tackle.
After the match, the Argentina team faced flak for taunting England with a banner related to the Falklands War. The controversy sparked off after Argentina’s Lautaro Martínez and Giovani Lo Celso held aloft a banner that read: ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ after the semifinal match. It translates to: ‘The Falkland Islands [Malvinas] are Argentine.’
