Argentina achieved an epic comeback against England 2-1. Goals from Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez take the Albiceleste to a new final. Ismail Elfath was the chief judge. The Moroccan referee, a nationalized American, had a good game at the Dallas Stadium.

In short, this semifinal started out as a complex match with a lot of friction. It seemed like Elfath was getting out of hand until he drew his first two cards after the hydration time. It was a correct match by the head judge. VAR intervention was not needed.

For the first time, after several matches in the 2026 World Cup, the sports media will have to review only the football factors that allowed the Albiceleste team to come back. Without the influence of Ismail Elfath, Lionel Scaloni's team managed to take the game forward and overcame the blockade that Thomas Tuchel had been implementing in the second half with his tall defenders John Stones, Marc Guéhi, Djed Spence, Dan Burn and company.

First time in Dallas

Ismail Elfath was accompanied by his two assistants Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins (Americans), the fourth official Maurizio Mariani (Italian) and the reserve assistant Daniele Bindoni (Italian). Marco Di Bello (Italy), Juan Lara (Chile) and Tatiana Guzmán (Nicaragua) were on the VAR.

Not even three minutes passed and the game showed its level of intensity. The first to commit a late foul was Enzo Fernández. His action generated some confusion in the middle of the field. Ismail Elfath solved it with a verbal warning on the Chelsea player.

In 11 minutes, 7 fouls had already been committed. It seemed that Ismail Elfath was losing control of the game. The principal kept the cards. Although there were no fouls that warranted a sanction, complications were generated later with friction, pushing and face-to-face confrontations.

The first yellow card of the game would come in the 36th minute. Ismail Elfath cautioned Elliot Anderson for a strong challenge on Lionel Messi in the middle of the field. The Inter Miami footballer got rid of up to three players with dribbles, but he couldn't avoid Anderson's tackle. The English footballer has been well reprimanded.

The second yellow card went to Lisandro Martínez. Ismail Elfath decided to caution the Argentine centre-back for holding an English rival's shirt inside the central circle. The Albiceleste centre-back was well reprimanded.

The first half ended with English and Argentine footballers on top of Ismail Elfath. But the refereeing of the main judge was correct. His only asterisk was a possible warning to Giuliano Simeone. In the first 25 minutes he committed up to 5 fouls (more than 50% of the entire Argentina team for that stretch of the match). Due to repetitions, the Atlético de Madrid footballer could have been reprimanded.

Second time in Atlanta

Unlike the first half, Ismail Elfath did not save the cards in the complement. Six minutes into the second half, Cuti Romero was cautioned for holding Jude Bellingham in an attempted counterattack from midfield. The South American center back was well reprimanded.

A few minutes later Guliano Someone was again involved in a foul play with Djed Spence. The Argentine, in an attempt to protect the ball, connected with Spence's face with his arm. The play came after a foul.

In the Argentine tie, the position of Lionel Messi, a footballer who assisted Enzo Fernandez for the great mid-distance shot, raised some doubts. Although the play was not clarified with the technological simulation, Messi seemed to be in the correct position by far.

Detailed data from the match between Argentina and England