England came into the semifinal in Atlanta with real belief this was finally the year, and Jude Bellingham had been the reason why. He'd scored twice against Mexico and twice more against Norway to get England this far, the kind of consecutive knockout-round outbursts nobody had produced since Maradona did it in 1986. Then Argentina happened, and England were headed home again, still chasing a trophy that keeps finding new ways to slip away.
Thomas Tuchel and a crushed England player react on the touchline as the questions about blame start immediately.
The blame game started before the final whistle even settled. Is it on Tuchel for the setup, or on players who've now made a habit of coming up short on the biggest stage? England's semifinal history speaks for itself, and this loss just adds another chapter to a book nobody in that dressing room wants to keep writing.
Tempers didn't cool once the players got to the tunnel, either. Emotions ran hot enough postgame that Bellingham reportedly got into it with Argentina players, the kind of scene that turns a heartbreaking loss into a full-blown pile-on.
Postgame, players are shoving and grabbing amid the handshakes as Bellingham gets tangled up with Argentina's side.
That kind of edge doesn't just live on the pitch. England and Argentina carry one of soccer's nastiest rivalries, dating back to the Falklands-era grudges and Maradona's Hand of God, and every meeting since seems to find a new flashpoint. A physical scrap in the tunnel after this one just fits the pattern.
None of that mattered in Buenos Aires, where the result was all that counted. Argentina advancing to face Spain in the final sent the entire city into the streets, and nobody there was going to bed anytime soon.
Fireworks and flags fill the Obelisco as an entire city pours into the streets to celebrate the win over England.
England, meanwhile, gets to sit with the same old punchline. Even the Jets have a championship more recent than England's last one, and Pardon My Take wasn't going to let that one go unsaid the second the final whistle blew.
Pardon My Take twists the knife on England's title drought with a Jets comparison.
England fly home to dissect another near-miss, Bellingham's tournament ends on a sour postgame note despite his brilliance getting them this far, and Argentina gets to chase a title against Spain with an entire country already partying like they've won it.