And so they waited and waited and waited, but it never came. Instead, it was Spain who capitalised on their moment, securing a 1-0 win over an Argentina team that never quite rediscovered the spark that has so often carried them over the line
After producing zero shots through the first 106 minutes, Argentina finally had to pick one out of the back of their own net. It came from the foot of Ferran Torres, who latched onto Nico Williams' knock-down to smash home a World Cup-winner, ensuring that Messi and co. would leave North America empty-handed.
The truth is that they never got close. Spain, as expected, dominated the ball. Argentina, as expected, were content to wait for a time to strike. Maybe they waited too long, but there's an equal chance that they would have been waiting all night because nothing ever seemed to be coming.
Their hopes, in truth, went up in smoke three minutes into second-half stoppage time when Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a clumsy challenge in midfield. With his second yellow, that Chelsea midfielder earned his marching orders, leaving Argentina chasing shadows that they weren't particularly close to catching even at full-strength. At that point, they had zero shots on target, and it stayed that way until the end.
And then it ended, in frustration, in disappointment and, realistically, in about as uneventful a way as it could for Argentina. This is a team that always conjured their fantasy storybook ending. Reality was much colder, though.
GOAL rates Argentina's players from New Jersey...
