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England are out of the World Cup after losing their semi-final 2-1 to Argentina in Atlanta. Here are the England player ratings on a disappointing night for the Three Lions...Made some crucial saves in the second half as England looked to hold onto their lead, but he could not do anything about Enzo Fernandez's late strike from distance and Lautaro Martinez's winning header.Another of Thomas Tuchel's changes and James was solid in his defensive duties. He didn't have the opportunity to get forward too much and show what he can do with his delivery, but it was an assured display. Eventually replaced on 82 minutes as he had no more to give to the cause.A really battling performance from the former Man City defender, who hasn't had much football at all this season. Eventually, with the rest of his defensive colleagues, they buckled under Argentina's pressure as Tuchel's defensive tactics backfired.Another brave defensive performance but Argentina's pressure proved too much for Guehi and his team-mates.A surprise inclusion from Tuchel but Spence was superb. It was a selection that paid dividends and his tackle to stop Giuliano Simeone from getting a shot away early in the second half was one of the moments of the match.Tasked with sticking close to Lionel Messi and he did his job superbly, especially after picking up a first-half booking. He was heavily involved in what was a heated midfield battle and more than held his own against some world-class Argentina midfield operators.World Cup 2026 fixture schedule - your day-by-day guideThe Arsenal midfielder is still not at his marauding best. Still, he put in a lot of the hard yards after taking his place in the starting XI after recovering from illness. His set-piece delivery was better than against Norway but not the tournament Rice would have hoped for after winning the Premier League with Arsenal.Handed the chance to start on the right flank and after a first half with not much space out on the pitch, he delivered the cross for Gordon's goal. However, he faded badly as England's defensive tactics kicked in as they failed to defend their lead.Targeted by Argentina and he failed to have the impact we have seen from him throughout the tournament.Not the easiest of games for the forward players but he was in the right place at the right time to convert Rogers' cross for England's goal. Replaced after England went defensive to try and protect the lead.No impact in the game whatsoever from the England captain. Ploughed a real lone furrow, especially with England trying to defend a lead. Provided no outlet when England needed it.On for Gordon in the 73rd minute as England looked to see out the game. Lacked quality in attack and with his delivery as England chased a late equaliser.On for James in the 82nd minute. The change did not work this time as he had no impact in either box.

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Close20Defending champions Argentina celebrate at full time, after beating England 2-1 to make it through to their second successive World Cup final.Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated topicsArgentinaFollow Argentinaclose panelYou are now following ArgentinaUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.FootballFollow Footballclose panelYou are now following FootballUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.England Men's Football TeamFollow England Men's Football Teamclose panelYou are now following England Men's Football TeamUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.FIFA World Cup 2026Follow FIFA World Cup 2026

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Lionel Messi was at his effervescent best while Harry Kane struggled to make an impactJordan Pickford Had little chance with either goal. Pulled off a sensational save from González but that will be forgotten now. 7Reece James Dominated his flank and fully justified being brought back into the side after injury. 7John Stones A rock at the back until the last 10 minutes when his lack of game time caught up with him. 7Marc Guéhi Mr Reliable in England’s defence didn’t put a foot wrong again and was unlucky to be on losing side. 7Djed Spence Has won over the doubters and then some. A Bobby Moore-esque tackle to stop Simeone. 8Elliot Anderson Another all-action display. Booked for taking out Messi brutally but belongs at this level. 7Declan Rice Looked far more his usual self. But had to be taken off as England tried to protect their lead. 6Morgan Rogers Preferred in unusual role on right flank and showed why, by setting up Gordon brilliantly. 7Jude Bellingham Fired up from the start, came close to losing his rag in injury time – couldn’t save England this time. 6Anthony Gordon Has come of age at this tournament. Will never forget scoring in a World Cup semi-final. 8Harry Kane It was from his long pass that England scored. But he will be hugely disappointed not to have had more of an impact. 5Substitutes: Ezri Konsa (for Gordon, 72) Slotted into back three but at fault for Martinez’s equaliser, 5. Dan Burn (for James 83) Third time unlucky after his cameos against Mexico and Norway, 5. Nico O’Reilly (for Rice 83) Could not prevent Messi’s cross for the winning goal. Ivan Toney (for Stones 90+3) Far too late to make an impact, 6. Marcus Rashford (for Spence 90+3) Tried his best to drag England level, 6.Emiliano Martínez No chance with Gordon’s goal but was largely a spectator for the rest of the match. 6Nahuel Molina Struggled to contain Spence’s and Gordon’s strong combination play down England’s left flank. 6Cristian Romero Squared up to Bellingham inside the first minute and showed some nifty footwork to get himself out of trouble. 8Lisandro Martínez Walked the tightrope after being booked in the first half so was no surprise to see him taken off. 7Nicolas Tagliafico Had his hands full with Rogers and it was from his error that Gordon was able to score. 5Leandro Paredes Early reducer on Anderson set the tone, but he could not exert his usual dominance in midfield. 5Enzo Fernández Inches away from an amazing goal in the first half before breaking England’s hearts with a stunning equaliser. 8Alexis Mac Allister So unlucky not to score after hitting both posts. The Liverpool man was back to his best. 8Giuliani Simeone Like father, like son. Always in the thick of things but couldn’t take his chance when clean through. 6Lionel Messi Some imperious touches and mazy runs that belied his age. Deserves to sign off on the biggest stage of them all. 9Julián Alvarez Caused huge problems for England down Argentina’s left flank all afternoon. Messi’s heir in waiting. 8Substitutes: Nicolás González (for Paredes 65) Denied equaliser by Pickford but added impetus to Argentina’s attacks, 8. Nicolás Otamendi (for L Martinez 72) Incredible that he is still playing at his age, 7. Gonzalo Montiel (for Molina 72) A massive upgrade on Molina as Argentina chased an equaliser, 7. Rodrigo De Paul (for Simeone 72) Surprise omission but made up for it by helping to change the game, 8. Lautaro Martínez (for Tagliafico 81) Argentina’s hero with a brilliant header, 8.

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Close134Enzo Fernandez equalises for Argentina against England in the 2026 World Cup semi-final at the Atlanta Stadium.Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated topicsArgentinaFollow Argentinaclose panelYou are now following ArgentinaUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.FootballFollow Footballclose panelYou are now following FootballUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.England Men's Football TeamFollow England Men's Football Teamclose panelYou are now following England Men's Football TeamUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.FIFA World Cup 2026Follow FIFA World Cup 2026

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England’s destiny is tournament heartbreak. The only question concerns when it comes and how the fates will contrive to make it as painful as possible. This was an implausibly brutal new low.Thomas Tuchel’s team had fought fire with fire on an occasion that was overloaded with shredded nerves. The first half was a physical fight; it was gripping all the same. And the possibilities seemed endless for England when Anthony Gordon put them in front shortly after half-time. A first appearance in the World Cup final since 1966 looked on.Argentina were not finished. There has been a feeling during this tournament that they are beatable, and yet nobody has beaten them. There is a reason for that. Their champion courage. They dug deep into it in the closing stages to complete one of their greatest fightbacks. That it came against England, the old enemy, made it even sweeter.The regrets belonged to England. Tuchel sought to preserve what he had in the final quarter with a switch to a back five, Ezri Konsa coming on for Gordon and playing as the right‑sided centre-half. The head coach had successfully seen out the 3-2 win against Mexico in the last 16 with five defenders on a night when his team were down to 10 men. There was no repeat here.The frustration was that the tactical shift invited Argentina to press on to the front foot. Tuchel played with fire. Argentina dominated the closing stages. It was their attack versus England’s defence and the equaliser was well signposted. That it came as late as the 86th minute only added to England’s devastation. They were so close.Enzo Fernández scored it with a fierce drive after Argentina had worked a short corner via Lionel Messi and England were floored before they could stagger on into extra time. They thought they had escaped when Alexis Mac Allister sent a low shot against the post. It was the second time he had hit the woodwork. But Messi recycled the move on the right, jinked and crossed deep. Lautaro Martínez was unmarked and when the Argentina substitute headed home England were primed to do likewise.It has been a strange tournament for Tuchel and his players, the feeling difficult to shake that the results up to this point had outstripped the performance levels. They did not do enough when it mattered the most against Argentina, especially in creative terms. They barely threatened Emi Martínez’s goal. And when defensive resilience was demanded towards the end, it was not there.Argentina deserved to advance to the final against Spain on Sunday. For England, there was only the beginnings of a familiar inquest.It was a night when the history framed everything. Nobody could ignore it and not only because of how loudly the Argentina supporters chanted the line about Las Malvinas in their World Cup song. The echoes could be felt from the pitches of Mexico 86, France 98, and Japan & South Korea 2002 – the most recent tournament clashes between the nations.The nervous tension pulsed and the first half was best summed up by the expected goals statistic: England’s stood at 0.05; Argentina’s was 0.03. The first effort on goal of any description did not arrive until the 33rd minute, John Stones heading well wide from a Declan Rice free‑kick. Fernández fizzed a drive high on 38 minutes.The tackles flew in and tempers were rarely far from boiling point. A snapshot of the first 45 minutes? It was when Messi got the better of Djed Spence in the 37th minute and then evaded challenges from Harry Kane and Gordon. A split second later, in came Elliot Anderson to halt him with a body check. The England midfielder, who revelled in the intensity of the contest, was booked. It was a long way from being the only tactical foul.England felt they shaded the war of attrition in the first half. They just had to stay patient and wait for their moment. It came in the 55th minute, shortly after Jordan Pickford had denied Julián Álvarez at the other end.One of Tuchel’s main moves at the start was to play Morgan Rogers at right midfield. The idea was to add a bit more physicality. But Rogers is a creative force and he was at the heart of the breakthrough. After Kane’s searching ball up the inside right was repelled only in part by Nico Tagliafico, Rice went wide to Rogers and it was just a lovely cross from him. Gordon worked the position on Nahuel Molina and the cool close-range finish had England in dreamland.At that point England had the belief and, in Spence, a man on a mission. The left-back had started with a determination to take on his opponents, to surge forward. He was fearless. And as Argentina tried to respond to the Gordon goal, they were denied when Spence crashed into a saving slide tackle on Giuliano Simeone. Spence celebrated it like a goal.Pickford did well to keep out a close-range Leandro Paredes header before the second-half hydration break but the tide had begun to turn. The feeling only intensified after England emerged for the final quarter in the back five. It was all Argentina. Mac Allister hit the post with a header when he had to score and Fernández forced Pickford into another save. Argentina would not be denied. England are coming home. Football is not coming with them.

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Close454Substitute Lautaro Martinez is in the right place at the right time to head home Lionel Messi's 92nd-minute cross to send Argentina to the World Cup final at the expense of England.Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated topicsArgentinaFollow Argentinaclose panelYou are now following ArgentinaUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.FootballFollow Footballclose panelYou are now following FootballUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.England Men's Football TeamFollow England Men's Football Teamclose panelYou are now following England Men's Football TeamUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.FIFA World Cup 2026Follow FIFA World Cup 2026

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Close260Anthony Gordon puts England 1-0 up against Argentina in the 2026 World Cup semi-final at the Atlanta Stadium.Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated topicsArgentinaFollow Argentinaclose panelYou are now following ArgentinaUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.FootballFollow Footballclose panelYou are now following FootballUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.England Men's Football TeamFollow England Men's Football Teamclose panelYou are now following England Men's Football TeamUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.FIFA World Cup 2026Follow FIFA World Cup 2026

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Close11Both England and Argentina's national anthems are drowned out by crowd noise, before the teams kick off their 2026 World Cup semi-final at the Atlanta Stadium.Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated topicsEngland Men's Football TeamFollow England Men's Football Teamclose panelYou are now following England Men's Football TeamUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.ArgentinaFollow Argentinaclose panelYou are now following ArgentinaUpdates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage.FootballFollow Football

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England's World Cup semi-final against rivals Argentina is under way - follow it live here.You can rate both sets of players out of 10 below and come back 30 minutes after full-time to see the final ratings.Rate players out of 10 for this game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle. You must be signed in to a BBC account to play.After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.When the World Cup finishes, the football continues on BBC Sport

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France’s captain has played with a sense of unfinished business but he will be 31 when the next World Cup beginsIt 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 semi-final defeat by Spain, their third in three years against the European champions, will linger into the American summer.France’s no-show on Tuesday makes the sands of time run a little faster for Mbappé. It feels a cruel trick that he will be 31 when the next World Cup comes around. At his current rate, he will have made about 700 appearances by then and there are no guarantees a body of work defined by explosive power can hold up into his fourth decade. Mbappé has nothing to prove, but this tournament had seemed a natural stage for a mid-career rubber stamping of his legacy.That may still come around in diluted form. No player has won two consecutive Golden Boots and, even when looking to the sky upon the final whistle and mopping his head with his shirt, Mbappé stood top of that ranking by virtue of having more assists than Messi. The pair were tied on eight goals.It is not quite enough for him. His frustration was made clear in a dissection that, interpreted one way, could be regarded as a rebuke to Didier Deschamps for tactical failures.France were outnumbered in midfield, Dani Olmo able to provide balance in a way Michael Olise could not, and Mbappé was seen only fleetingly before taking a number of pot shots in the later stages. They could not get the ball to him before that; ultimately any collective idea was sacrificed to the flailing hope that individual genius would, as so many times before, hold sway.The angst is greater because Mbappé had hit the ground running, shaking off an anticlimactic end to the season with Real Madrid and battering through the early challenges in France’s path. The sense of unfinished business was laid bare.“I would change Argentina 2022,” he has said when asked, if permitted, how he would rewrite the past. “That final comes to mind more than the one we won.”The hat-trick in Lusail and subsequent defeat on penalties are a sore that refuses to heal. Facing Messi and Argentina one last time in New Jersey could have been the palimpsest for a fresh version of the story and a coronation as the world’s undisputed best.Instead, a less glittering volume must begin. “We have to move on to the next chapter,” Mbappé said. “Because football waits for no one. We have to start over, put this failure behind us, and learn from it.”There is no suggestion he will call time prematurely on commitments with France. Zinedine Zidane will almost certainly succeed Deschamps and the tantalising question is whether Les Bleus’ two best players of all time can forge a partnership that works.Even if it passes the vibe check, Zidane has been out of the fray for five years since leaving Real. He and his captain must find a way to harness those moments of star quality while honing the kind of coherent method that has ultimately allowed Spain to outstrip France convincingly.What version of Mbappé will France find in 2030? It may depend on whether he has finally won a Champions League, with or without a European Championship title in two years’ time. It would have seemed unthinkable, when he tore a trail through Russia 2018, that a dozen years might pass without Mbappé claiming another of football’s majors.The opportunities will keep coming, but that prospect is, if nothing else, becoming a talking point. Mbappé would be repulsed by the very notion of long-term association with near misses.Maybe Beckham and Inter Miami will indeed tempt Mbappé one day, just as Messi was lured to a late-career role that has done no harm to his longevity for Argentina. Perhaps it would mean the World Cup tilts keep coming.In theory, Mbappé could carry France’s hopes to Saudi Arabia 2034 and even beyond. But it did not take a huge leap, on watching his features contort with multiple agonies at Dallas Stadium, to wonder whether his clearest shot at satisfying those big ambitions has drifted away.

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West Ham winger Crysencio Summerville is a target for Manchester United, Arsenal are preparing an offer for Norway winger Antonio Nusa, while Everton consider moving for Manchester City's Rico Lewis.Manchester United will target West Ham winger Crysencio Summerville, 24, if Marcus Rashford leaves this summer, with the Netherlands attacker costing about £30m. (Guardian - subscription required), externalArsenal are preparing an offer of about £34m for RB Leipzig's 21-year-old Norway winger Antonio Nusa. (Caughtoffside), externalManchester City have informed Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi they want to bring the 18-year-old Morocco midfielder straight into the first team rather than loan him back to France. (Teamtalk), externalSunderland have confirmed the signing of Belgium full-back Thomas Meunier on a two-year contract. The 34-year-old was a free agent after leaving Lille and had interest from Valencia and Hull. (Mail - subscription required), externalManchester City are looking at Paris St-Germain's Senegal forward Ibrahim Mbaye, 18, after interest from Aston Villa and Tottenham. (FootMercato), externalBournemouth are in advanced talks with Benfica over a £17m deal plus add-ons for 22-year-old Portugal defender Antonio Silva. (Mail - subscription required), externalSunderland are lining up a move to sign 19-year-old French defender Dayann Methalie from Toulouse. (Football Insider), externalEverton are considering a move for Manchester City right-back Rico Lewis, with Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Fulham also interested in the 21-year-old Englishman. (Teamtalk), externalHull City are expected to finalise a move this week for Swedish winger Elliot Stroud from Mjallby, in a deal worth £3m. Hull are also hopeful of completing the signing of Olympiacos goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis. (Sky Sports), externalListen to the latest Football Daily podcast

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The match-winning England striker is ‘a good ambassador for young people’, says one contestantAll together now, with arms in the air: One Jude Bellingham, there’s only one Jude Bellingham …Unless, that is, you happened to find yourself in Shoreditch, east London, on Wednesday, where a dozen young men who looked vaguely like the England midfielder gathered for a lookalike contest almost as competitive as the one currently continuing in the US.For England football fans who dream of cloning their rampaging match-winner, the event might have offered a glimpse of a fantastical future. Bellingham has scored six goals in as many games in the competition, and another one of him in England’s midfield would surely not go amiss.For everyone else, just hours before England were due to face Argentina in the semi-finals in Atlanta, it offered a glitchy megaphone, a scrum of influencers with cameraphones and an opportunity to kill some time before they decamped to the pub for an evening of stress and alcohol.The prize for the Jude-iest Jude? Not, this time, a gold trophy of two figures holding the globe, but a Deliveroo voucher to the value of £1,966 – an always-welcome reminder of the six long decades since England last got its hands on the World Cup.Could this year be any different? The Bellinghams were bullish. “Yeah of course. Come on England. It’s coming home,” said 19-year-old Zane Proctor, a Manchester university student who had found out about the event on Instagram. “I was in the local area and thought, why not?”He probably wasn’t the closest doppelganger, he admitted, but as a big Bellingham fan had wanted to take part. “I feel like he’s a really good idol,” he said. “He is criticised a lot by the media, and I feel like his response to the media is very inspirational for young and upcoming players. So beyond the football, beyond all the goals, I feel he is a really good ambassador for all the young people who look like me, and not even that look like me, to all the young kids that watch on TV. I feel like he is a really good person to look to.”Despite being repeatedly complimented on his resemblance to the player during the month he has spent studying in Britain, Gabriel Mian, 20, from Orlando, had stumbled across the event by accident. “I had to come to the station anyway, and some people told me I had to go [to the competition],” said Mian, who is staying in nearby Brick Lane. “So I just walked up and now l am here, I guess.”Bellingham, of course, might be said to have his own near doppelganger already in the form of his 20-year-old younger brother Jobe. He has replicated his career closely – having already played for Birmingham City, Borussia Dortmund and England’s Under 16s, like Jude – and even uses his first name rather than surname on his shirt to avoid confusion with his older brother.Jobe Bellingham, alas, was not available in Shoreditch on Wednesday. Instead, 24-year-old Marcus Legemah, a master’s student at University College London, was awarded the lookalike crown by popular acclaim, or at least a half-hearted cheer.Is he often told he looks like Bellingham? “Yeah, but it’s normally just drunk people in the pub,” he said. “More since Jude has been playing well. So this tournament, it’s happened.”He was given his prize by “our very own Erling Haaland lookalike” – a bloke with blond hair in a pony tail – to a few optimistic cries of “Kiss! Kiss!”, referencing the real life pair’s affectionate friendship.What was the characteristic he most closely shared with Bellingham? “Sadly, apart from looks I don’t think there’s much,” said Legemah. The victory, nonetheless, “means everything”, he said. “I’m so excited. Now I can can celebrate the final with some friends, with pizzas and beer.”As for who will win the World Cup, however, he has confidence worthy of England’s No 10. “I think we are going to win. You have to have the confidence. I think it’s coming home.”