Former French footballer Thierry Henry has justified Argentina’s victory in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals. He praised coach Lionel Scaloni’s tactics and the team’s mentality, while criticizing England’s defensive tactics.
atlanta [यूएस]July 16 (ANI): Former France striker Thierry Henry has described Argentina as deserved winners after their 2-1 win over England in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals. He praised Lionel Scaloni’s strategic thinking and questioned England’s defensive tactics.
Henry calls Argentina ‘deserving winners’
During Fox Sports’ post-match coverage, Henry said Argentina’s performance reflected the qualities of the reigning world champions. Henry said, “The best team won. Their attitude and mentality were fantastic. Argentina played very good football and in my opinion England went to the back-five strategy very quickly. They felt they had to defend the lead a bit early.”
The Arsenal legend also highlighted Scaloni’s strategic decision to deploy Lionel Messi on the right flank instead of playing through the middle. He said that this gave the Argentina captain an opportunity to take advantage of one-on-one situations. “Scaloni put that little magician (Messi) on the right, not in the middle, but on the right to give him the ball one-on-one. They’re world champions for a reason,” he said during Fox Sports coverage.
Such was the exciting semi-final match
Argentina beat England 2-1 to book their place in the FIFA World Cup final, where they will face Spain, while England will face France in the third-place playoff.
The first half was a tight contest, with both teams struggling for control of midfield and creating few clear chances. England finally broke the deadlock in the 55th minute when Anthony Gordon headed in Morgan Rogers’ cross to give the ‘Three Lions’ the lead.
After taking the lead, England dropped deeper defensively, giving Argentina the opportunity to apply pressure. The defending champions responded strongly, with Jordan Pickford making key saves and Alexis McAllister’s shot hitting the post as Argentina scored the equaliser. In the 85th minute, Enzo Fernandez equalized the match after receiving a pass from Lionel Messi.
Argentina completed their comeback in stoppage time when Messi delivered a cross and Lautaro Martínez scored the winning goal with a header. Despite last-minute efforts from England, Argentina held on to their lead to reach the final. England will now face France for third place, while Argentina will face Spain for the title. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)