Atlanta welcomed an absolute slugfest of a World Cup semifinal match to the stadium Wednesday between Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Harry Kane’s England, in what will go down as perhaps the largest sporting event Atlanta has ever hosted. The physical, chippy nature of the game matched the energy the fans brought, with emotions running high from well before kickoff and surely well after final whistle. Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta Stadium – barely contained within its walls an energy you could cut with a knife, with both sets of fans chirping at one another as their respective teams payed homage to a bygone era of wrestling that truly fit Michael Buffer’s stadium intro of “Let’s get ready to rumble!” This match was perhaps the peak of what a sporting event could offer in the city of Atlanta, and it truly did not disappoint. Here are the final whistle thoughts from Atlanta’s World Cup one final time!
The fans
I’ll get to the game in a moment, but I have to highlight the atmosphere both English and Argentine fans brought to Atlanta today. The stadium was rocking in a true celebration of football, as two gargantuan cultures of the game met in the stands and brought every facet of their country’s love for soccer with them. Before the opening whistle, Argentina fans literally drowned out “Sweet Caroline” and England’s national anthem, and England returned the favor by resonating an echoing “boooo” during Argentina’s anthem. Outside the stadium, La Albiceleste supporters set off fireworks and danced around them, chanting, waving flags of Messi and Maradona.
The city of Atlanta may be long wishing for this type of atmosphere and event once more, but even if we never see something like this again in our lifetime, every fanbase throughout this entire tournament brought the heat.
A clash of giants
The match itself was every bit of the battle everyone expected out of two headliners in the international soccer world. Both sides traded cautionary blows in the first twenty minutes, neither looking incredibly dangerous in front of goal, but committing physical acts of violence against each other that led to whistle after whistle. The hydration break opened the game up somewhat, but it was truly just a tit-for-tat game throughout the entire first half.
The second half saw the game come to life, though. It’d be England who would strike first via a wonderfully awkward finish by Anthony Gordon via a cross sent in by Morgan Rogers. Unfortunately, they’d then decide to remain content playing defensive football for most of the match, as Argentina immediately made a few tweaks and leaned into the gas, something they’ve done multiple times in this tournament. The dam would finally break in the 85th minute as Enzo Fernandez fired home a rocket to beat Jordan Pickford, tying the game at 1-1 and forcing England back into playing.
Oh, and that Lionel Messi guy, he’d be the one to provide that assist, and the game winning one. In the second minute of stoppage time, he’d break an island nation’s heart with a right-footed cross into the box that Lautaro Martinez would find in the air to send Argentina through to the final. I use the phrase “blew the roof off the place” often when dealing with big moments in this stadium, and this World Cup has had plenty of them here, but the noise and energy that erupted when that ball hit the back of the net could be felt in the confines of my own chest and head.
How can one not love this game?
Both Argentina and England players would stay on the pitch long after the final whistle blew, one side celebrating and the other simply sharing a moment of solace with their supporters. At one point, Argentina players pulled a drum from the fans and began leading them in chants, dancing around on the pitch for about 40 minutes after the game finished. About a quarter of the stadium, one full side, stayed with them, relishing the moment and soaking it all in.
That’s a wrap on the World Cup in Atlanta, and on behalf of all of us at Scarves and Spikes, I truly hope you’ve enjoyed the articles and the videos and the variety of content we’ve been putting out. We’ll certainly have a bit more to put the cherry on top, but thank y’all so much for coming along on this journey with us!
Let us know below what you thought of the match!
I am sad the World Cup in Atlanta has come to an end, but what a 4 weeks we had. Incredible matches. I was only able to see one match in person but had an awesome time and will never forget it. Atlanta can be very proud how we (partially) hosted the greatest sports tournament in the world. I hope we don’t have to wait another 30 years.
I will miss World class football terribly after Atl United starts up again on Friday.
At least we still have one more game, but the return to the turgid and depressing play of AUFC is not something I look forward too.
How did Tuchel think he could play defense for 40 minutes against Messi and ARG? For all the good he did; that was stupid in the first degree.
I feel like Bellingham will make some kind of public statement about that soon.