ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Julio Cortez s a veteran photojournalist with The Associated Press. He is the AP regional chief photographer and a Pulitzer Prize winner. Cortez is working his third World Cup, has been with the AP 16 years and is based in Dallas.
France was running out of time, trailing Spain 2-0 in their semifinal match with less than 10 minutes left in regulation. Every missed goal attempt was followed by visible frustration from France’s Kylian Mbappe. This photo was made in the 81st minute when Mbappe took a pass with a very open field and Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon leaving the penalty box to clear the path for a breakaway attack by Mbappe. With Simon away from his net, France had a clear shot at cutting the deficit in half. Instead, Spain dropped back and avoided allowing a goal. Mbappe looked in disbelief, put his hands over his face and hunched over, reacting to yet another failed scoring attempt.
Since the play was happening on Spain’s side of the pitch, I had my telephoto 400mm lens aimed at a luxury suite behind the team benches. That’s where David Beckham was sitting. Since the action was not near my side, I had the luxury to look up for celebrities up in the stands. However, when the breakaway happened, I quickly turned my attention back to the pitch. It took me a second to switch from the camera with the long lens to the camera with a Sony G-Master 50-150 F2 lens to get the action. After the scoring opportunity was denied and the action was over, I kept that camera fixated on Mbappe to show his reaction to missing a pivotal shot. He was clearly upset and frustrated. Then, he put his hands on his face and hunched over for a couple seconds allowing me to make this image without other players near him.
France was looking to get back to the championship game, but with the score 2-0 late in the game those chances were beginning to look slim. A victory over Spain would have meant a third-straight trip to the championship for France and Mbappe. But as it turns out, Spain’s defense was able to negate every attempt from the French. Mbappe was clearly frustrated throughout the match, including getting a yellow card on a different play against Simon. In a semifinal match, the emotions run high. The winner will be very elated while the loser will have to deal with the feelings of defeat. This image gives a good example on the latter feelings.
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France's Kylian Mbappe reacts during a World Cup semifinal soccer match against Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Tens of thousands of soccer fans flooded the streets of Argentina's capital on Wednesday evening in a collective eruption of ecstasy over their national team’s 2-1 victory over England to reach the World Cup final.
Some screamed, others cried — and the most frenzied sprinted shirtless in pouring winter rain through the streets of Buenos Aires, their bodies painted in blue and white national colors. Young men and women scaled lamp posts and traffic lights, waving Argentine flags. Many sobbed, completely overwhelmed by the moment.
The celebrations — likely to last long into the night — followed Lautaro Martinez's winning goal two minutes into injury time in the game in Atlanta. Defending champions Argentina will now play Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday.
“Look around at all these strangers, jumping and dancing together,” said Rosana Beto Cruz, a 48-year-old Catholic nun celebrating among the sea of Argentines thronging the Obelisk, the city's soaring downtown monument, hours after the game.
“The World Cup, our national team, it makes this happen,” she added.
The public joy, many fans said, wasn’t so much about advancing to the finals or defending the title they won four years ago in Qatar as it was about crushing their nation’s historical adversary.
Wednesday's semifinal was the latest chapter in a long-running feud that has transcended far beyond the pitch to encompass British control over the disputed Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas and claims as its sovereign territory.
“This is not just about football, it's about beating the country that broke our hearts,” Maria Bertero, 40, said, referring to the 10-week war in 1982 when the Argentine military dictatorship had unsuccessfully attempted to reclaim the remote South Atlantic territory. “My heart still aches for all the young boys who were sent to their deaths."
But joy soon replaced sadness as Bertero spoke of Wednesday's game. “It's tremendous. It's magic. It makes me proud to be Argentine,” she added, whistling and cheering.
The Buenos Aires celebrations were a sharp contrast to recent sentiment toward Argentina expressed on social media, where accusations that FIFA and the referees have conspired to get superstar Lionel Messi and Argentina through to the final have stirred resentment toward the reigning champions.
There is no evidence for such claims, but there have been several contentious calls.
That has done nothing to dim Argentines’ euphoria.
“All this talk about it being fixed, about FIFA being involved, have they even looked at what's happening on the field? How much we've suffered?” asked Jorge Luis Lema, who watched the game at a downtown bar, where the mood among patrons was somber until the 85th minute, when Enzo Fernandez's unstoppable goal unleashed pure exhilaration.
“It's a lie. Football is football,” Lema said of the online hate. “Whoever wins, wins. And Argentina won once again.”
The war over the Falkland Islands, which killed 649 Argentines — many of them young conscripts underresourced and outgunned by the British army — remains one of the South American nation's darkest chapters.
It also has loomed large in Argentine soccer culture since one of history’s greatest players, Diego Maradona, led Argentina to victory over England in a monumental 1986 World Cup quarterfinal with his notorious “Hand of God” goal and epic 58-meter solo sprint known as the “Goal of the Century.”
Messi, 39, who played for years under the weight of Maradona’s legacy until becoming a world champion in 2022, has once again lived up to — and perhaps exceeded — his country’s oppressive expectations, fans said.
“Seeing Messi playing football like this, at his age, it just leaves me speechless,” said Matías Adorno, 28, one of the countless revelers wearing Messi jerseys in central Buenos Aires — the same place where fans have gathered after every World Cup victory so far.
“As Argentines, we've always put so much pressure on him. But he's given us absolutely everything,” Adorno said, beaming.
Cries of “For the Malvinas, for Diego (Maradona), for Leo’s last one (tournament)” pierced the air.
Crowds bounced up and down to another classic chant dating back to the war — “El que no salta es un ingles,” or, “Whoever doesn't jump is an Englishman.”
The celebrations provided a rare catharsis that many Argentines, polarized under their radical libertarian President Javier Milei and accustomed to cycles of economic crisis, said was desperately needed.
“It is just pure joy, especially given the really bad movement we're going through now, with life being so expensive, with this president who's dividing us,” said Yanina Quinteros, 40, celebrating with her 6-year-old daughter perched on her shoulders.
“Tonight, we're together,” she added. “All of us, grandparents, children, mothers, fathers, we're all just here to celebrate tonight.”
Fans celebrate Argentina's victory over England in a World Cup semifinal soccer match around the Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A fan perches atop a traffic signal during celebrations of Argentina's victory over England in a World Cup semifinal soccer match in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Fans celebrate Argentina's victory over England in a World Cup semifinal soccer match in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A family celebrates Argentina's victory over England in a World Cup semifinal soccer match while driving through Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)
Fans celebrate Argentina's victory over England in a World Cup semifinal soccer match around the Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
