Arsenal stars can hold their heads high despite England heartbreak

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·16 July 2026

Arsenal stars can hold their heads high despite England heartbreak

England’s World Cup journey came to a heartbreaking end with defeat to Argentina in the semi-finals. With Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice once again playing key roles throughout the tournament, Liam Harding reflects on the match, the progress made under Thomas Tuchel and why there is still every reason for Three Lions supporters to be optimistic about the future.

Argentina showed why they are world champions

Last night, England were beaten fair and square as they were knocked out of the World Cup following a narrow 2-1 defeat to reigning world champions Argentina.

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After Thomas Tuchel’s side invited pressure from Lionel Scaloni’s men, the first half ended in a cautious 0-0 stalemate.

With Argentina looking the more likely side to break the deadlock, England struck first instead. In the 55th minute, Morgan Rogers whipped an excellent cross into the penalty area from the right, finding Anthony Gordon, who produced an outstanding first-time finish to give the Three Lions the lead.

Moments later, England had the chance to strengthen their advantage, but Harry Kane was unfortunate as the ball became trapped between his feet at the crucial moment.

As Argentina gathered momentum, Enzo Fernández produced the equaliser in the 85th minute with a stunning strike from around 20 yards that flew into the top corner.

From that moment, it felt as though there would only be one winner.

Deep into stoppage time, Lautaro Martínez headed past Jordan Pickford from close range to seal a dramatic 2-1 victory for Argentina and end England’s hopes of reaching the World Cup final.

As they say, football can be a game of fine margins, but Argentina were simply on another level. Their relentless determination and incredible team spirit, which had already seen them recover from two goals down to beat Egypt in the Round of 16, once again proved decisive.

How could England not admire the mentality of the three-time world champions?

(Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

England have plenty to be proud of

Going into this tournament, many supporters questioned England’s squad, and I could understand why.

There was no Cole Palmer or Raheem Sterling, two players who had captured the imagination during England’s runs to the Euro finals in 2021 and 2024. Spain, the team that denied England in the latter of those finals, will now face Argentina on Sunday evening with the chance to become world champions themselves. We have 3 Gunners heading into the final with Spain – David Raya, Martin Zubimendi and Spain’s ‘hero’ Mikel Merino who has developed a reputation for scoring late goals at the 2026 World Cup.

Despite the disappointment, Tuchel’s side gave everything throughout the tournament, and nobody can question their commitment. There were signs of complacency during the hard-fought quarter-final victory over Norway, which required extra time, but England always found a way to keep progressing.

During the match, I felt that simply reaching the semi-finals, regardless of the outcome, would mean England had done themselves and the country proud.

After all, England reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, but before that had not managed the feat since Italia ’90.

That highlights just how far the national team has come since the disappointment of the 2014 World Cup, when England failed to progress beyond the group stage, and the shock defeat to Iceland at Euro 2016.

Under Gareth Southgate, and now Thomas Tuchel, England have completely rewritten that story.

Over the last decade, the Three Lions have reached two World Cup semi-finals and two European Championship finals, something many supporters could only dream about during the early 2010s.

This generation may not yet have matched the achievements of Sir Alf Ramsey’s 1966 World Cup winners, but they have built a culture based on teamwork, togetherness and tactical discipline.

That was something the so-called Golden Generation, featuring stars such as David Beckham, Frank Lampard and Michael Owen, never quite managed to achieve on the international stage.

This current England side may not have lifted the World Cup, but they deserve to be remembered as one of the finest generations the country has produced.

To one of the greatest England teams we have seen, and here’s to even more success in the future.

Liam Harding

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