New angle has England fans convinced Argentina goal should not have counted
England fans have been questioning the validity of Argentina's winning goal, following the release of new footage.
Hearts up and down the nation were broken last night when Argentina's Lautaro Martinez scored a winning goal during injury time, bringing the Three Lions' dream of reaching their first World Cup final in 60 years to a crushing end.
However, fans are now questioning whether or not Martinez's winner should've stood, following an alleged foul on Djed Spence in the build-up.
Moments before Martinez fired his header into the back of the net, Lionel Messi appeared to clash with Spence before crossing the ball into the box. However, footage from a certain angle appears to show the Argentinian star catching the foot of Spence.
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Spence was ultimately able to stay on his feet, but this hasn't stopped England fans calling for a missed foul.
"Messi's stamp on Spence before Lautaro's goal, why does VAR only work when the goal is against Argentina," wrote one disgruntled viewer on X.
"Messi obviously steeped [sic] on Spence right foot with his left foot," penned another, adding: "Look at how far messi left foot went after stepping on Spence right foot."
"Surely Messi fouled Spence here. How did this not get called back," claimed a third.
Messi's stamp on Spence before Lautaro's goal, why does VAR only work when the goal is against Argentina? pic.twitter.com/HVO8vy3Gmw
— SENYO (@Senyyo) July 16, 2026
Surely Messi fouled Spence here. How did this not get called back pic.twitter.com/2LWzXjSjUS
— Jack (@jruttan0) July 15, 2026
— Johnnycortass (@Cortesisass) July 16, 2026
Meanwhile, other viewers drew comparisons between the alleged foul and Egypt being denied a goal against Argentina in a previous match for a foul in the build-up.
"Zico’s goal gets disallowed for a stamp 30m away Argentina’s goal line... but Messi doing this less than a meter from England's goal line in the buildup to the winner isn't even reviewed," one social media user fumed.
However, not everyone was convinced by the claims, with several other fans pointing to alternate camera angles which suggested the pair did not make contact.
"VAR didn't bother to interfere because there was never anything to see in the Messi challenge on Djed Spence," wrote one sceptic, while a second added: "Messi didn’t touch him and Spence was limping because of his left leg bending awkwardly."
Stomp or not, it won't affect the outcome of the match, with Argentina advancing to Sunday's final against Spain while England will play France in the third-place match.
The alleged foul isn't the only controversy to come from the match, with footage showing Jude Bellingham slapping an Argentinian substitute after the final whistle was blown.
Bellingham's actions came after tensions flared throughout the match, with English and Argentinian players caught in heated confrontations throughout the match.
Meanwhile, Argentina could face repercussions for holding up a banner referencing the Falkland Islands after the win.
During celebrations, players unfurled a banner chucked onto the pitch, which read ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas,’ translating to ‘The Malvinas are Argentine’.
Las Malvinas is the Spanish translation for the Falkland Islands, a South Atlantic archipelago which has long been contested between the UK and Argentina.
FIFA guidelines prohibit 'political, religious or personal messages or slogans of any nature in any language' from players and match officials before, during and after the match.
Brenna Cooper