Coaching programs in the future may use England’s performance against Argentina as a prime example of how not to defend a one-goal lead. This assessment is underscored by the stark statistics that emerged following the match.
Upon reviewing the game, several troubling figures came to light. Among the most alarming was reported by OptaJoe, revealing that England held just 12% possession during the 30 minutes following Anthony Gordon’s goal until Argentina equalized. “That is the lowest by a team to be winning for at least 10 minutes in a World Cup match in the last 60 years,” they noted.
The situation deteriorated further when breaking down this period. Before the hydration break, England had shown some resilience, with a notable pass from Harry Kane leading to a shot in the 66th minute. The captain soon followed up with an attempt right after England regained possession in the final third, suggesting a potential threat to Argentina’s defense.
However, this pressure evaporated when Ezri Konsa replaced Gordon and England shifted to a 5-4-1 formation. This tactical change diminished their speed on the counterattack. While substituting Kane might have been a significant risk, his contributions were minimal as the team tried to maintain a low defensive block.
As Thomas Tuchel reflects on England’s upcoming third-place playoff, the team’s goal difference throughout the tournament stands at +6 across 6.3 matches, averaging +0.82 per 90 minutes. It’s intriguing to see how this statistic fluctuated with different players on the pitch, despite the caution against overanalyzing small sample sizes. The goal difference was +2.01 per 90 minutes with Bukayo Saka, +1.16 for Reece James, and +1.14 for Gordon.
Speed has been beneficial for them, and it might have been advantageous in this match, yet the Arsenal winger remained on the bench. Introducing a fast player upfront could have provided a crucial outlet under pressure.
In the 19 minutes following Konsa’s introduction until Argentina scored their winning goal, England managed only 11 passes.
Yes, just eleven. This isn’t a comedic scenario; it’s a World Cup semi-final. Of those, only four passes were successfully completed: two right after the hydration break when Jordan Pickford passed to John Stones and received it back immediately, and another in stoppage time when Kane found Jude Bellingham, who promptly lost possession. The only other successful pass came from Bellingham’s kick-off following Enzo Fernández’s equalizer.
This sequence encapsulated the collapse of England’s hopes. Bellingham sent a backward pass to Pickford, who then aimed a long ball toward Kane, which went futile. Notably, the goalkeeper accounted for five of England’s seven unsuccessful passes during the period from Konsa’s entry to their conceding the second goal, with three of those attempts going out of bounds.
Another significant issue was the lack of game management. Argentina frequently disrupted play with fouls, many of which went unpunished, until they fell behind. During the interval between Gordon’s goal and the 97th minute, England conceded only one free kick and made their last successful tackle in the 63rd minute.
To top it off, England conceded the decisive goal to a header from the relatively short Lautaro Martínez, who stands at just 174cm, despite bringing on 201cm Dan Burn to counter Argentina’s aerial prowess. Burn’s only touches came in the attacking third after England fell behind; he proved ineffective in their own penalty area, resembling an oversized ornament rather than a valuable asset.
Regardless of which metrics are applied to evaluate the period after England took the lead, the results remain troubling.
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