How in the world did Argentina win that match?
I mean, really?
They just absolutely don’t give up, and when Enzo Fernandez scored the tying goal in the 85th minute, it just seemed inevitable that Argentina would get another one before it got to extra time.
Yep. Lautaro Martinez. Second minute of stoppage time.
Ball game.
Argentina, the defending World Cup champion, beat England, 2-1, at Atlanta Stadium, and is heading to the final against Spain on Sunday.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, they did the same thing to Egypt in the round of 16 last week.
Two-goal deficit late in the second half ... gone in a flash. Argentina wins, 3-2, and advances.
It’s like Lionel Messi and the squad sense that if they can get level, they get the opponent on their heels, and they just take advantage.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Messi assisted on the go-ahead goal Wednesday, as Martinez took the pass from the right side of the box and put the header in the net, sending the Argentina fans into euphoria.
I don’t know whether the American sports equivalent is Tom Brady leading his teams to touchdowns in the Super Bowl, or maybe it’s Steph Curry hitting another mind-bending 3-pointer from somewhere near San Francisco Bay.
Either way, it’s what we love about sports — the unpredictable nature, with a dollop of agony and ecstasy. And Atlanta, in hosting its eight matches, has been blessed with its share of memorable World Cup moments throughout these two fortnights.
From Spain to Cape Verde to Congo to Egypt and England, it’s been a wild ride.
At the end, it was Argentina. Again.
There was a growing contingent of fans who wanted a changing of the guard, to watch the defending champions fall to England, and to see Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane take the stage. They would face 19-year-old Lamine Yamal, who was already awaiting the winner, after Spain dispatched France on Tuesday in the other semifinal.
That wasn’t in the cards, and it’s not the hand they were dealt.
Again, it’s Messi. It’s Argentina.
Along with that, though, it’s a rabid fan base that believed all along, with incessant singing and chanting and cheering, with shirtless men dancing in the stands and hugging, even before their team got the lead.
It only heightened in the final minutes, well into a celebration that lasted more than an hour after the final whistle.
Argentina knows how to party, and they’ve been here before — and they pulled back the velvet rope to welcome Atlanta into their ever-expanding VIP section of the soccer club.
For England, it’s a bitter setback. After scoring in the 55th minute and temporarily silencing the majority of the announced attendance of 68,239 fans, they just needed to hold on.
They couldn’t.
Enzo Fernandez tied it in the 85th minute, and Martinez put on the final touch, with an assist from Messi.
But then, we should have known.
We’ve seen Argentina do this before.
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