Argentina used dozens of "dirty tricks" to upset England in World Cup semifinal The Telegraph claims

British newspaper The Telegraph has accused the Argentina national football team of deploying 31 "dirty tricks" during their highly charged 2026 World Cup semifinal victory over England.

According to a detailed breakdown by the publication, Argentinian players committed five fouls in the opening 11 minutes of the encounter. An additional 13 infractions were recorded through the remainder of the first half, including stoppage time, followed by nine more fouls after the interval. Although head referee Ismail Elfath officially penalised Argentina for 27 fouls, The Telegraph asserts that when taking other unpunished, controversial incidents into account, the tally of "dirty tricks" reached 31.

The newspaper singled out forward Giuliano Simeone as the primary offender, attributing six fouls to him. The article also highlighted an on-pitch discussion between Argentinian captain Lionel Messi and referee Elfath at halftime.

Argentina won the semifinal match 2-1 after staging a late comeback. England took the lead in the 55th minute via an Anthony Gordon strike, but Enzo Fernández equalised for Argentina in the 85th minute. Lautaro Martínez then netted the decisive match-winner in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.

Following the result, Argentina is set to face Spain in the World Cup final on July 19 in New York. England will contest the third-place play-off against France.

By Tamilla Hasanova