Defeat will haunt England for a long time, says Burn

For the second time in eight years, England's men led a World Cup semi-final. But for Croatia in 2018, read Argentina in 2026. England went ahead in the 55th minute of Wednesday's game in Atlanta, when Anthony Gordon finished from Morgan Rogers' cross. But late goals from Enzo Fernandez and - in the second minute of injury time - Lautaro Martinez meant the Three Lions missed out on their first men's World Cup final appearance since 1966.

Dan Burn, who was roared on to the field as a second-half substitute with the score 1-0, summed up the feelings of the England players. "Gutted," said the Newcastle defender. "Absolutely gutted. We nailed the gameplan pretty well. To go 1-0 up... then we got too passive, conceded too many crosses and too many chances. When you're playing a team of that quality, it is going to cost you. This will haunt me for a long time, I think." England had produced resolute displays in the previous two rounds - beating Mexico 3-2 in the last 16 despite playing most of the second half with 10 men, then hanging on to defeat Norway 2-1 in the quarter-finals.

England captain Harry Kane, who has scored six goals at this World Cup, said: "There's not much to say - everyone is gutted. When you're so close, 10 minutes away, and it slips out of your hands like that, obviously the lads are devastated. We did so well for 60 minutes. We're going to have to find out how we can improve in those situations. It's been probably the missing piece now for probably the past four or five tournaments." Kane refused to be drawn on whether he would still be playing by the time of the 2030 World Cup, saying he takes it year by year.

Jude Bellingham, also on six goals for England at this tournament, said: "The lads did everything they could over the course of the tournament - I can't fault the effort and the fight. That's the life of a footballer at this level. The more beautiful the journey, the more heartbreaking the end is. I'm really proud of all my team-mates - they put in a magnificent shift over the last few weeks. I wanted to be part of an England squad that finally did it and finally got it over the line. To be here telling the fans the same things they have heard for years and years, it's really gutting."

Despite the defeat, head coach Thomas Tuchel retains the backing of the Football Association and is expected to lead the team into Euro 2028. But he said he was surprised his side were unable to see the game out. "We went 1-0 up but it totally turned the momentum in their favour. They took all the risks after. They played totally free after that with all the risks and a lot of quality. We were basically not physical enough. We couldn't win duels and we couldn't get hold of the ball. It was a total momentum shift from our goal." Tuchel said his players had given "everything" during the tournament, adding: "The conviction and the self-confidence after going 1-0 up was just not there."

England must now prepare for Saturday's third-place play-off against France (22:00 BST), which will be live on the BBC.