England’s hopes of winning the World Cup might have ended in heartbreaking fashion, but one moment on the pitch drew attention away from Argentina’s winning goals. During the semifinal, cameras caught Jude Bellingham and Lionel Messi engaging in a tense moment, prompting fans to speculate what happened between them. Now, Bellingham has cleared the air.
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“[We were] discussing a foul, actually,” Bellingham told reporters after the game. “But it was nothing bad. I’m sure everyone will do their thing and make it a big deal. But no, it was nothing really.”
“I thought there was a foul earlier, and he said, ‘Well, what about the one on me?’ and I was kind of saying, ‘You’re strong enough to take it,’ you know what I mean?” he added.
Despite England blowing a one-goal lead, Bellingham highlighted that he had nothing but respect for Messi and the significance of sharing the field with one of the greatest players of the sport.
“It was a privilege to play against Messi; there was no disagreement or problem between us,” he said. “[Being] the losing side hurts a lot, but playing in front of him was a privilege.”
Argentina mounted yet another comeback to win this game, scoring both of their goals within seven minutes. The first came in the 85th minute from Enzo Fernandez after a pass from Messi; he assisted on the Lautaro Martinez goal a few minutes later at the 92-minute mark. For the English team, Anthony Gordon had scored their only goal in the second half.
Argentinian head coach Lionel Scaloni had nothing but praise for his players following their win.
“We are truly unique, and that’s not arrogance,” he said. “From the bottom of my heart, these players led us to victory. I’m lost for words. A joy for our country, for our people.”
The game was tense from the kick-off. Referee Ismail Elfath called a total of 26 fouls and pulled out the yellow card 4 times. Eight of those fouls were in the opening 10 minutes. Three of four yellows were for Argentine players. Messi was the target of some of those early fouls, and England’s sole yellow card for Elliot Anderson came in the 38th minute after a challenge on the Argentine captain.
Argentina will now face off against Spain in the final on Sunday at New York MetLife Stadium, looking to become the first team to repeat as World Cup champions since Brazil did so in 1962. One more victory stands in their way.
