England v Argentina: World Cup 2026 semi-final – live

50 min Spence zips down the left and slides a good cross that is hoofed away by Martinez. While it’s hardly a festival of tiki-taka, it’s certainly been a brighter start to the second half.

48 min “I love when the comments are flying about Messi not having done enough, or having a poor pass completion, or not making any chances,” writes Colin Livingstone. “This is when you should be afraid.”

Agreed, although it’s also quite scary when he’s on a hat-trick after five minutes of the first half.

A long kick from Emi Martinez is headed down to Alvarez just outside the area. Spence dives in, Alvarez gets half a yard and thrashes a shot from a tight angle that is beaten away by Pickford. It might have been going wide of the near post but he couldn’t take any chances.

Moments later Alvarez has another try and hits the side netting. A corner is given so it must haved taken a deflection off the lunging England defender, Guehi I think.

46 min There’s a false start to the second half due to a couple of England players crossing the halfway line prematurely.

This match has had everything!

“Perhaps Fifa could institute the 30-minute half-time break now, to give everyone the chance to visit the quiet room and have a lie down?” writes Charles Antaki. “The more fractious ones could be read a calming story, and the ones requiring medication given an extra dose. That won’t guarantee a good match when they come back out, but it might reduce the testosterone to manageable levels.”

They should pipe this round both dressing-rooms.

“The Fox/US commentators are desperately trying to put lipstick on this pig,” writes Chris Amirault. “‘This game has everything!’ Except shots, goals, organization, and skill. Blech.”

Anthony Barry, Thomas Tuchel’s No2, is chatting to the BBC

We wanted to be the aggressor, we wanted to be on the front foot and get after them – to show there was no inferiority complex and that we’re here to play in their half.

I think it worked until the water break. After that it was a bit more difficult for us to get the ball – they dropped Messi and Enzo outside our block and got some possession. But it’s still absolutely okay, and the evolution for us is to take this dominance and turn it into bigger chances.

The more time we spend in their half, the more tired they’ll get. I think we can open them up later on.

“The winner of this semi-final thus far would be the United States,” writes Beau Dure. “The officials are doing a tremendous job with a bunch of ill-tempered players. Both teams seem to be realising they can’t get away with their shenanigans, and the game is improving. Still not great, and it’s tempting to say they should just cancel the final, award the trophy to Spain, and let Shakira play for two hours.”

The xG is England 0.05-0.03 Argentina. And that flatters both teams.

It was only last month that Kylian Mbappé suggested all roads may lead to Florida. He was in sufficiently mischievous mood to reveal David Beckham had been chewing his ear off about a move to Major League Soccer, dangling the prospect of a reunion with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami.

“We will see, I don’t know,” he said. “The American culture is different. There are no limits to ambitions, I like it.”

Yet Mbappé will walk out in Miami on Saturday nursing clipped wings and thwarted aspirations. The third-place playoff retains some prestige given the names involved. But it pales in comparison with the broken dream of another final; the regrets from France’s last-four exit to Spain, their third in three years against the European champions, will linger into the American summer.

Apparently this is the first World Cup game since records began (in 1966) in which there were no attempts at goal – on or off target – in the first half an hour.

Given the nature of association football before 1966, that probably means it’s the first time it’s ever happened.

Or, if you prefer, England 7-12 Argentina. That’s the foul count.

There were no shots on target at either end, though Enzo Fernandez did whip a lovely long-range effort just over the bar. For the rest of the half, loveliness was conspicuous by its absence.

45+2 min England build patiently on the right wing. Argentina force them back, first to the halfway line and then all the way to Pickford.

45 min There will be three minutes of additional muck.

44 min “This,” begins Niall Mullen, “is the longest crap 90’s football video I’ve ever seen.”

43 min Bellingham surges away from Romero, who recovers to make an excellent challenge. When Cristian Romero is showing everyone how to tackle properly, you know the game isn’t exactly one for the purists.

41 min “A hydration break in an air-conditioned stadium?” sniffs Krishnamoorthy V. “2027 Nobel for medicine to Gianni.”

That lad is a disgrace to the bald community.

40 min Argentina have their longest spell of possession in the game. When they lose the ball and England break, Rogers is basically kidnapped by Lisandro Martinez. He joins Elliot Anderson on a yellow card.

Messi has a long-range shot blocked. The ball ricochets to Fernandez, who takes a touch and arcs a gorgeous effort from 25 yards that just clears the crossbar. Pickford flew across goal, straining sinews he didn’t even know he had, but he wouldn’t have saved it.

37 min James’ free-kick is punched away a little loosely by Emi Martinez. Argentina break and Messi protects the ball brilliantly before being fouled 45 yards from goal by Anderson. Another shoving match ensues, after which Anderson is booked.

36 min “Currently just gone 5am and 3 degrees here in Adelaide and I’m up and had a (very sad little) instant coffee watching the match as quietly as I can to not wake the rest of my Australian family,” writes Kathryn Mayor. “Hoping for a good result and a nap later.”

35 min Spence knocks the ball into Gordon just outside the area. He tries to slide it past the last man Lisandro Martinez, who reads it well and gets back to clear.

Spence, who has been excellent, helps to keep Argentina penned in. Eventually Molina fouls Bellingham just outside the area on the left.

33 min Rice clips the free-kick to the far post, where Stones gets above Lisanrdo Martinez but can only head wide. A tough chance under pressure.

That was the first attempt at goal at either end

32 min Bellingham comes alive with a winding run infield from the left. Fernandez is having none of that nonsense and legs him up 25 yards from goal. He certainly should have been booked by now.

29 min “I’m not sure I agree Bellingham has been too emotional,” writes Joshua Keeling. “He’s been remarkably restrained given how horrible Argentina have been. We know he’s got a temper, so let’s hope he keeps that up.”

Polite disagreement is good disagreement.

28 min Pickford gives the ball away from the restart. England get away with it when Alvarez’s admittedly awkward pass is miscontrolled by the stretching Messi.

28 min Let’s try that one again.

If you’re just joining us, it’s been utter crap. But these pictures are great.

25 min When the corner is taken, Simeone is penalised for putting hands on Pickford.

23 min Bellingham, who has been far too emotional in the first quarter of the game, is penalised for a late challenge on Mac Allister. It’s taken short and given to Simeone, who runs at Spence to win Argentina’s first corner.

22 min Argentina have had a couple of promising moves in the last few minutes. Messi has been relatively quiet, an observation I’ll regret when he roofs one from 30 yards just before the hydration break.

20 min A nice little move from England, involving the football. Eventually Rogers plays in the overlapping James, whose low cross on the run is too close to Martinez.

Rogers and Gordon have been England’s brightest attackers. And Spence, but that’s a given these days.

18 min Spence makes a fine run down the left, forcing Enzo Fernandez to come across to usher the ball out for a goalkick. Good defending.

16 min There were six combined fouls in the opening 10 minutes of England-Argentina, tied for the most in any game this World Cup (France-Sweden), according to ESPN Insights.

15 min Great minds think alike, and so do Zach Neeley and I.

I’d think trading fouls over and over benefits the less talented team, which imho is definitely Argentina. England should try to not get caught up and focus on taking their shots at Emi Martinez, who has let a lot of them through this tournament.

14 min Simeone is flagged offside. Pickford runs out of his area to knock the ball out of Simeone’s hand; he simultaneously makes contact, no more than a shoulder charge, and Simeone goes over.

England’s players need to take some of those benzos that David Beckham hasn’t been flogging. This kind of game surely suits Argentina more than England.

14 min A spontaneous solid chorus of boos at Walthamstow Trades Hall as soon as Gianni Infantino was shown on the screen.

13 min “Watching the coverage, I’m almost, almost, finding myself buying into the jingoism,” writes Matt Dony. “I mean, I don’t think I can actually shout in support of England, but maybe I can quietly hope they win? That’s ok, isn’t it? Argh, now Benedict Cumberbatch is doing his thing on the BBC! He’s brilliant! I’m going to have to remind myself just how Welsh I am at some point, before I lose the run of myself…”

12 min Rogers throws Paredes (I think) to the ground after being on the receiving end of what looked a naughty challenge. At the same time there was an off-the-ball grapple between Anderson and Fernandez. This is a bit pathetic, on both sides.

11 min “I still can’t believe,” writes Sean Orlowicz, “Paraguay have made it to the semifinals.”

I can’t believe it’s Paraguay v Paraguay in the semi-final of a World Cup.

10 min James fouls Tagliafico, then Simeone fouls Anderson, then Anderson fouls Fernandez. This is comical, a Hackney Marshes job.

8 min Rice’s corner is headed away comfortably by Romero. Then an England player commits a foul, already the fourth or fifth of the game. Not sure who the offender was but that wasn’t my point.

7 min Rogers runs at Tagliafico to win the first corner of the game. England have started pretty well.

5 min There’s already a sense of menace about this game. If it finishes 11 v 11, I’ll eat an entire copy of Shree Haricharitramrut Sagar.

4 min Fernandez caught Anderson on the back of the head with a straight arm, a point Bellingham is making to the referee. No yellow card either way. My instinct is Fernandez is a bit lucky to get away with that.

I forgot to say that this is an air-conditioned stadium, so conditions are in complete contrast to England’s quarter-final in Miami.

3 min Plenty of challenges already flying in, and now there’s a shoving match near the centre circle. It was sparked by a late challenge on Anderson by Enzo Fernandez. Looks like a storm in a teacup.

2 min “Hi Rob,” writes Giovanni Cafagna, “my Mancunian wife and I are sitting in a bar on a Greek island. We had a lovely day at the beach, plenty of delicious food, now waiting for the match to begin. I reckon England will go through somehow. My wife reckons Kane and Bellingham sent off and penalty awarded thanks to the latest trend of throwing yourself in front of an opponent trying to clear a high ball in the penalty area, getting barely touched, rolling about as if hit by a Patriot missile. Sounds plausible doesn’t it.”

The good news is that, come the 2030 World Cup, the players will all have IMU sensors from head to toe so we’ll know whether they were touched.

1 min Argentina, wearing their change strip as in 1986* and 1998, kick off from right to left as we watch.

* I bet they didn’t buy this one from a local shop, though.

It’s hard to be certain when you’re watching on TV, but it sounded like their were loud boos during both anthems. Either that or, somewhere in the world, Joe Root has scored another century.

Peter Oh writes from across the pond

I’m a bit miffed at both of these sides for unleashing a torrent of TV ads here in the US, with David Beckham and Lionel Messi are mercilessly hawking beer, hardware, banks, burgers, batteries, cell phones, computers, chips (i.e., crisps) and who-knows-what-else.

Frankly, I’m surprised that the sponsors of the stadium haven’t done an ad campaign with Sir David called Benz it Like Beckham.

Beckham’s flogging benzos now?!

“This is just a match, OK?” said Maradona. And then he repeated himself several times, just as Scaloni would decades later.

Maradona persisted with that narrative, his teammates remember, until the two teams walked out of the tunnel at Estadio Azteca the next day.

“Diego was walking in line with us,” Argentina defender José Luis Brown recalled before his death in 2019, “and he started raving. He says: ‘Let’s go, yeah? These motherfuckers killed our neighbours, they killed our relatives.’ I understood, obviously … After the anthems, nobody said anything. We hadn’t said anything about that before the game but we’d all been thinking about it. We just went out there and ran.”

I have measured my life in World Cups. The first blurry moments of childhood memory, the passing into adolescence, starting university. Each tournament marks a season of life. Each one is also associated with potent, formative emotional events: Roger Milla dancing around the corner flag when Cameroon became the first African team to reach the quarter-finals in 1990; Roberto Baggio’s devastating goal that knocked out a Nigeria that had been on a thriller streak in 1994; Zinedine Zidane’s tragically ignominious head-butt in 2006 during his last-ever match. But this World Cup has felt different from the start.