England stood on the verge of advancing to their first men's World Cup final since 1966.

They held a 1-0 advantage over the defending champions Argentina as the clock at Atlanta Stadium reached the 84-minute mark - only for everything to unravel dramatically.

Enzo Fernandez leveled with a powerful shot in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martinez nodded home a winner in the 92nd minute - both strikes set up by Lionel Messi.

In an instant, England's World Cup hopes collapsed.

They had fought hard to go ahead via Anthony Gordon in the 55th minute - only to retreat and suffer the consequences.

England boss Thomas Tuchel's choice to adopt a defensive stance proved costly.

Argentina instead advance to Sunday's final against Spain at New York New Jersey Stadium (20:00 BST).

Yet should England have pressed for a second goal after taking the lead?

They chose not to - and held just 12% of possession between going ahead and conceding the winner.

Tuchel waited until deep into added time to introduce forwards Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney, while defenders Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O'Reilly arrived after the opening goal.

"We have crumbled," former England captain Wayne Rooney told BBC Sport.

"It began with the manager and the calls he made. It was far too passive.

"Against this side, the world champions, you cannot survive that approach. This was the ultimate test and we fell short."

So why did England drop deep while ahead against Argentina? And were Tuchel's second-half decisions responsible for missing out on the final?

England displayed resilience at this World Cup, recovering from deficits to beat DR Congo in the last 32 and Norway in the quarter-finals.

"The contrast comes in holding on versus Norway or Mexico [in the last 16]. They lack the quality this Argentina side possess in ball control and the capacity to punish mistakes," former England captain Alan Shearer told BBC Sport.

"Tuchel played his hand very early and it has backfired."

England appeared to seize command of the semi-final against their familiar rivals when Gordon gave them the lead.

England supporters erupted in celebration - yet the team then chose to sit back and protect the advantage.

"That represented a coaching disaster from Thomas Tuchel," Chris Sutton, a Premier League winner with Blackburn in 1994-95, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"You cannot hope to defend for 30 minutes against the quality Argentina possess.

"It all rests with the coach. He made the substitutions. He was negative, so the question I must ask is how can you trust Thomas Tuchel to lead this team forward?"

England have suffered against Argentina before.

Who can forget Diego Maradona's notorious 'Hand of God' goal at the 1986 World Cup or the 1998 World Cup loss that still stings?

England, though, have only themselves to fault for Wednesday's defeat.

"Norway and Mexico showed panic against England," former England goalkeeper Joe Hart told BBC Sport.

"I saw no panic from that Argentina side. I witnessed belief, I saw them realizing they could free up the great man Lionel Messi in the pocket, and they dominated England.

"Gareth Southgate faced heavy criticism for big moments with England, when they led in major games and shut up shop. I do not see that anything has changed in that big moment out there."

So what were the substitutions that frustrated England supporters so much?

With England leading 1-0, many anticipated Tuchel would seek another goal - but instead the German made three defensive changes.

He introduced Konsa for Gordon in the 72nd minute - shifting to a back five - before adding further defensive options 10 minutes later in Burn and O'Reilly.

Tuchel brought on Rashford and Toney, but it proved too little too late.

"I felt the changes we made at 1-0 meant that if Argentina scored we would not reach extra time," said Rooney.

Former England defender Micah Richards told BBC Sport: "When England scored that first goal they should have pushed for a second.

"Yes, you respect their quality, but dropping deep let Argentina find their rhythm."

Even Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez acknowledged a shift in momentum after the opening goal as England retreated to defend.

"Sometimes when you are winning, you have to push forward," said Martinez.

"You cannot alter the gameplan. I think they did and they brought on extra defenders."

Tuchel has bettered England's 2022 World Cup run, when they reached the quarter-finals before exiting to France.

Yet this England squad features exceptional talent such as Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.

England captain Kane, who will near his 36th birthday by the next World Cup, indicated his side could have done more.

"When we went 1-0 up we seemed to try and hold on, which at this level is not enough," he said.

"[I am] just gutted because we've worked so hard to be here and the lads have given every last bit of running, blood, sweat, tears.

"We pressed them well. We put them under loads of pressure high up the pitch, which then allowed us to win balls and control the game a bit better.

"After the goal, whether it was them pushing more men forward or us not matching them man for man, it was just wave after wave.

"The lads were putting blocks in but, in the end, it just wasn't enough."

Asked if he made the wrong decisions against Argentina, Tuchel said he had "no regrets" and his changes responded to England becoming "too passive".

"We decided to go to a back five to close the gaps," Tuchel said.

"Straight after our goal, with no substitutions, we just conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances, so we tried to help.

"The responsibility is on the coach. When it doesn't go well, it's easy to say it was wrong.

"We were very close today. It's not the moment to analyse the full tournament."

Despite reaching the semi-finals, Tuchel's tactics and choices will face criticism for days after failing to reach the final despite taking the lead.

"Tonight, on the biggest stage, he got it wrong, and he has to accept that," said Richards.