Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni and striker Lautaro Martinez were over the moon after the defending champions came from behind to beat England and reach another FIFA World Cup final on Wednesday, www.aclsports.com reports.
Enzo Fernandez and Lisandro Martinez, with the help of two Lionel Messi assists, struck the late goals in a dramatic turnaround in Atlanta just as England were closing in on their first final in 60 years, following Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute goal. It means the South Americans will face Spain in Sunday’s final.
Speaking after guiding his side to another World Cup final, Scaloni was short of words before going ahead to declare that his current group of players continues to surprise him.
“No words, no words. A joy for our country, for our people,” Scaloni told FIFA after the game.
”The other day, I said this group never stops surprising me. And I’ll tell you the truth, we’re going to try to win, we’re going to leave everything out there, but after this it’s very difficult to get people to understand what these players are showing.
”It’s incredible. We are unique, truly, and it’s not arrogance; it’s from the heart. We are unique. These people today carried us to win the match, so I’m grateful,” the 48-year-old World Cup winner concluded.
On his part, Lautaro Martinez, who came off the bench to score the winner, said he told teammates Alexis Mac Allister and Facu Medina he was going to score the winning goal in the tense semi-final game in Atlanta.
“I dreamed it [the goal], I swear. I told Alexis [Mac Allister] that I was going to score. I told him. I told Facu Medina on the bench that I was going to come on and I was going to win it. And it fell to me. Enzo scored a great goal too, and now that I’m calmer, I can tell you this team keeps showing what it’s made of.
”[England] got tired. They pressed for 60 minutes. After that, they had nothing left … then they dropped back, and that gave us more calm when it came to moving the ball. We made the pitch wide, and in the end we got the two goals, and after three and a half years we’re back playing a World Cup final,” the Inter Milan captain spoke about what his side did to turn the game around.
