India, July 16 -- The semi-final scoreline will scream that England were 1-0 up till the 84th minute. Psychologically, however, they had retreated into ironclad shells much earlier. In the face of Argentina's ruthlessness, England's highs proved to be too good to be true. But at least for the first 54 minutes, they had played the game they promised themselves they would. They pressed hard, challenged every second ball, denied Lionel Messi rhythm and refused to be intimidated by the world champions. There was no inferiority complex.

Everything changed, though, with Anthony Gordon's goal. Which was perplexing to understand because Argentina looked like the more emotional side till then. The game was scrappy, with too many refereeing interv...