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Lionel Scaloni: Argentina smelt 'blood in water' in England win

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni praised his team's resilience after a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over England secured a World Cup final spot against Spain. The win continues a string of late turnarounds in the knockout rounds, with Scaloni describing the team's mentality as key.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 3 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 12–17, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said his team sensed victory as they mounted a late comeback to beat England 2-1 in the World Cup semi-final, securing a place in Sunday's final against Spain. Goals in the 85th and 90+2 minutes overturned Anthony Gordon's opener for England, who had led since the 55th minute.

"There was blood in the water, and we went for it. That's the feeling that I was getting," Scaloni said after the match, as reported by the Buenos Aires Times.

Coverage Comparison

Scaloni's comments highlight a recurring theme of Argentina's tournament: overcoming adversity. The semi-final in Atlanta was the fourth consecutive knockout match in which Argentina overturned a deficit, according to the Buenos Aires Times. In the Round of 32, they needed two extra-time goals to beat Cape Verde 3-2; in the Round of 16, they trailed Egypt 2-0 after 79 minutes before scoring three times; and in the quarter-finals, they broke a deadlock against Switzerland with two goals in the second period of extra time to win 3-1.

The coach acknowledged the team's struggles in the quarter-final, saying after the Switzerland match: "We suffered today." He added: "We knew Switzerland were a very physical team. They caused us a lot of problems, but fortune was on our side." Midfielder Thiago Almada echoed that sentiment, describing the extra-time victory as "a match where we had to suffer."

The victory over England was the second time in the knockout rounds Argentina won after trailing late, following their comeback against Egypt—a win Scaloni had described as "epic." Asked to describe the England match, Scaloni offered: "Epic, squared?"

Key Claims

Argentina won 2-1 against England in the semi-final, coming from behind with goals in the 85th and 90+2 minutes after Anthony Gordon's opener.
Lionel Scaloni praised his team's never-say-die mentality, saying they "fear nothing" and play without pressure.
Argentina will play Spain in the final on Sunday in New Jersey.
Argentina won 3-1 against Switzerland in extra time, a match Scaloni admitted his team "suffered" through.
Argentina reached the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup, having won all four knockout matches after trailing or needing extra time.
The team's resilience is linked to the "many hardships" Argentina has endured, as expressed by supporter Matías Cirelli.
Scaloni has guided Argentina to four major titles since taking charge in August 2018, including the 2022 World Cup and two Copa America victories.

Perspectives

Lionel Scaloni, Argentina coach

Scaloni emphasized the team's collective effort and mental strength, saying: "I think that this team plays the best when we are facing adversity." He described the win as a "show of the collectiveness, the brotherhood that we are in, the fight to the very end." He also stressed the importance of recovery over worrying about opponents, saying: "It doesn't matter whether it's England or Norway. We need to recover, that's the most important thing."

Thiago Almada, Argentina midfielder

Almada celebrated reaching the semi-finals, saying: "We came into this as world champions and now we're back among the last four again. We're absolutely delighted because this is what we wanted." He added: "For us, this is about chasing glory and keeping Argentina at the top."

Matías Cirelli, Argentina supporter

The Buenos Aires lawyer linked the team's resilience to national character, saying: "It's a group that never gives up, no matter the obstacles." He added: "Argentines never consider a battle lost, even when everything seems stacked against us."

How this outlet told it

Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 16, 2026, 1:45 AM UTC

Framing: Argentina's comeback victory — Positive and celebratory

Facts Included:

Argentina won 2-1 against England in the semi-final
Argentina came from behind to win
Lionel Scaloni praised his team's never-say-die mentality
Argentina will play Spain in the final

Read the source article →

Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 12, 2026, 5:15 AM UTC

Framing: Argentina's victory over Switzerland — Cautious and self-critical

Facts Included:

Argentina won 3-1 against Switzerland in extra time
Lionel Scaloni admitted his team 'suffered' during the match
Argentina reached the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup

Read the source article →

Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 17, 2026, 3:45 PM UTC

Framing: Argentina's resilience and mentality — Analytical and explanatory

Facts Included:

Argentina's string of dramatic comebacks and extra-time victories
Lionel Scaloni's comments on the team's mentality
The influence of Argentine supporters on the team's mentality
The team's history of overcoming adversity

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimArgentina won 2-1 against England in the semi-final.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 16, 2026, 1:45 AM UTC
ClaimArgentina came from behind to win against England in the semi-final.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 16, 2026, 1:45 AM UTC
ClaimLionel Scaloni praised his team's never-say-die mentality.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 16, 2026, 1:45 AM UTC
ClaimArgentina will play Spain in the final.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 16, 2026, 1:45 AM UTC
ClaimArgentina won 3-1 against Switzerland in extra time.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 12, 2026, 5:15 AM UTC
ClaimLionel Scaloni admitted his team 'suffered' during the match against Switzerland.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 12, 2026, 5:15 AM UTC
ClaimArgentina reached the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 12, 2026, 5:15 AM UTC
ClaimArgentina has a history of overcoming adversity in the tournament.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 17, 2026, 3:45 PM UTC
ClaimThe influence of Argentine supporters on the team's mentality is significant.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Buenos Aires Times as of Jul 17, 2026, 3:45 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 3 articles consulted: Buenos Aires Times 9 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15