England held their nerve to overcome Argentina’s determined fightback and finish the World Cup in third place with a tense 26-23 victory at the Stade de France.
Ben Earl and Theo Dan touched down but England will rue allowing a 13-0 lead to slip away, the Pumas clearly out to avenge their rout when the teams met in the pool stage seven weeks ago.
The remaining points for England in an arm-wrestle of a contest in which ‘Kamikaze Kids’ Tom Curry and Sam Underhill excelled were supplied by Owen Farrell’s flawless kicking, which ultimately proved the difference between the sides.
England have now finished in the World Cup’s top three on five occasions, with only Saturday’s finalists New Zealand and South Africa managing more podium appearances.
Argentina were roared on by the neutrals in a 77,674 crowd and with only pockets of Red Rose supporters present, it was the most partisan atmosphere Steve Borthwick’s side have faced at the World Cup.
Farrell was booed repeatedly and Ben Youngs drew the same reaction when he jogged off with half an hour left, even though the nation’s most capped player was making his 127th and final appearance.
The evening was not much fun for Henry Arundell, who ran in five tries against Chile yet was passed the ball only once here, reducing one of England’s most dangerous runners to the role of bystander until he was withdrawn with 15 minutes left.
Having produced among the worst semi-final appearances in World Cup history against New Zealand, Argentina were far hungrier as they looked to emulate their previous best tournament performance of third place in 2007.
It was the Pumas side who edged Wales in the last eight that ultimately turned up at the Stade de France, although it took them time to get going
England initially picked up where they had left off in Marseille by scoring freely, a short pass from Marcus Smith slipping Earl through a gap and there was no stopping the number eight from 15 metres out.
It was part of a bright start by England, who kicked intelligently and were accurate in everything they did, enabling them to build a 13-0 lead when Farrell added two penalties.
Argentina were already on the ropes but they took heart from making headway through the white defence until they were sent hurtling backwards at a scrum in front of the posts.
Emiliano Boffelli got the Pumas off the mark with a penalty but it was all they had to show for period of ascendency, their prospects not helped by two knock-ons at key times.
England’s own play had become more ragged and when Farrell kicked away possession and a penalty was conceded, Argentina went on the rampage with a sweeping attack that ended when Tomas Cubelli went over.
The officials declined to check for an obvious forward pass during the move but there was nothing controversial about the Pumas’ second try when Dan missed a tackle that allowed Santiago Carreras to glide into space and finish with class.
Dan’s redemption was instant as from the restart he changed down Carreras’ clearance, gathered the ball and scored.
As chants of “Argentina, Argentina” sounded around the Stade de France and the Pumas vigorously celebrated winning a penalty, there was a sense of occasion of the match even if play was stop-start and often ugly.
Farrell and Nicolas Sanchez traded penalties and with neither side able to seize control of the game, an edgy climax approached.
Sanchez missed what should have been a routine penalty and England were not troubled again, closing out the match in the right half of the pitch.
'World-class' Scotland will provide Wallabies' sternest test – Skelton
Australia will face their sternest test to date when they continue their autumn tour against a "world-class" Scotland team at Murrayfield on Sunday.
That is the view of forward Will Skelton, who believes the Wallabies' victories in England and Wales have brought a new energy and confidence to their camp.
Having crashed out in the pool stage at last year's World Cup in France before finishing last in the Rugby Championship, Australia have looked a team reborn in recent weeks.
A first victory at Twickenham since 2015 and a 52-20 rout of Wales – their biggest-ever away win in matches between the teams – have made it an excellent tour to date for Joe Schmidt's side.
But La Rochelle lock Skelton feels their toughest assignment is to come this week, saying: "We've won two games, we're very aware of that.
"The Test against Scotland is going to be the hardest one yet. We're excited about this weekend and we're looking forward to ripping into it.
"Physically they're up there with the top five in the world. I think set-piece wise they're really strong.
"You've got a guy like Finn Russell who's a maestro at the back there. I think it's going be a close one and we'll be up for it.
"There's some class players in the Scottish team and, when they're at it they're world-class, so we're going to have to be on top of our game."
Wales must 'show courage and front up' against South Africa, says Gatland
Warren Gatland has urged Wales to "show real courage and front up" in their final Autumn Nations clash against South Africa.
Gatland's side bring the curtain down on a disappointing year when they welcome the reigning world champions to the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Wales have lost an unprecedented 11 straight Tests, and could go an entire calendar year without tasting success for the first time since 1937.
Gatland has made four changes from last weekend's 52-20 defeat to Australia, with Sam Costelow, Rio Dyer, Christ Tshiunza and Taine Plumtree all coming into the starting XV.
Gareth Anscombe, Aaron Wainwright and Cameron Winnett drop out of the squad, while Adam Beard misses out through injury.
And Gatland wants his players to demonstrate fighting spirit against the Springboks.
"Last week's result hurts, and we are just as disappointed by it as the fans," he told reporters during his pre-match press conference.
"Our focus now is on training and preparing well for our final game of this Autumn Nations Series.
"There were good elements that we can definitely build on going into Saturday, but we have to improve our accuracy.
"We know what a quality side South Africa are and the physicality they bring. This week, we need to show real courage and front up against the world champions."
Argentina 1-0 Peru: Martinez matches Maradona to snatch qualifying win
Lautaro Martinez equalled Diego Maradona's scoring record for Argentina as his strike secured a 1-0 win over Peru in their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier.
The Albiceleste bounced back from a shock defeat to Paraguay, with the Inter striker's 55th-minute effort enough to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points.
Argentina started brightly and almost took the lead with their first real opportunity, only for Julian Alvarez's powerful strike to rebound off the outside of the post.
Alexis Mac Allister also came close moments later and rose high to meet Alvarez's cross, though he could only glance his header wide.
Martinez, who netted his 32nd Argentina goal to go joint-fifth in the all-time scoring chart, proved decisive in the second half, acrobatically volleying Lionel Messi's cross into the back of the net.
Lionel Scaloni's side are one place above Uruguay, who they face next. They are on 25 points at the top of the qualifying table, while Peru are rooted to the bottom with just seven.
Data Debrief: Equalling a great
Martinez took 70 appearances to go level with Maradona in the Argentina record books, though he is still a long way off matching Messi's 112-goal tally for his country.
The captain, meanwhile, registered his 58th assist, matching former United States forward Landon Donovan's record for most international assists.
It was a needed win for the hosts, but they had to edge a cagey affair to get it. There were just three shots on target in the whole game, with all three falling to Argentina.
Peru failed to attempt a shot on target for the first time in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers since facing Argentina in October 2023.
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