While Argentina made a dramatic comeback, England were eliminated from the World Cup. Midfielder Jude Bellingham was involved in an accident with Valentin Barco after playing the full game.
Jude Bellingham was involved in an altercation with Argentina defender Valentin Barco after the World Cup semi-finals. (Image: BBC iPlayer)
Jude Bellingham appears to have slapped Argentina defender Valentin Barco after England lost to Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals. The incident caused a flashpoint when the Three Lions squandered a one-goal lead against the defending champions.
There was a new flashpoint in the moody clash as the Real Madrid star appeared to attack a Strasbourg defender as Argentina cheered in the center of the pitch. There were ugly scenes in Atlanta as Aston Villa playmaker Morgan Rodgers had to leave the melee.
Barco, who was an unused substitute in the semi-final, was seen celebrating with jubilant team-mates when Bellingham appeared to hit the full-back in the head. However, there is no indication as to what caused the midfielder’s anger.
Sign up now for the Make Football Great Again newsletter and get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox!
Anthony Gordon broke the deadlock to give Thomas Tuchel’s side the lead, but England fell back, inviting pressure from Argentina. Goals from Enzo Fernandes and Lautaro Martinez completed the turnaround and booked a spot in Sunday’s final against Spain.
BBC Sport co-commentator and former England captain Alan Shearer said: “I think the best team won. I can’t complain about that. We’ve got to be open and honest. Their reaction was fantastic.”
Television footage showed Bellingham slapping the Argentina player (Image: BBC)
“England were lucky as they hit the posts a few times, but they didn’t panic, stuck to their game plan, believed in what they were doing and got it done. The substitutions worked. You have to admire and respect the way they got back into the game.”
“It pains me to say this, but they deserve to be in Sunday’s final.”
Tears filled the eyes of the Argentines as they produced yet another dramatic display after escaping skirmishes with Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland en route to the final. Lionel Scaloni’s team needed extra time to defeat the two African nations, but used their man advantage to defeat Switzerland.
England opted to shut out the defending champions with Tuchel making the change, looking to protect their slim lead. Argentina countered this with an aggressive introduction and turned the semifinals around with a fast-break double.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich head coach could be criticized for choosing to go into defense with 15 minutes remaining. Wayne Rooney felt England were putting a lot of pressure on them, and England had to suffer in the final 25 minutes.
He said: “You have to be on top all the time during the game. We wait with a one-goal lead, make changes and go back to six points, but if you allow Messi to come on, you and Argentina are asking for trouble.”
This means the Three Lions will be fighting for third place, as they did at the 2018 World Cup, where they lost to Croatia in the semi-finals, where they will face France.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
