Thomas Tuchel's side surrendered a one-goal lead in the closing stages in Atlanta as Argentina staged a dramatic fightback with late goals from Enzo Fernandez and substitute Lautaro Martinez.
Defeat means another missed chance for England and they have now failed to reach a World Cup final for the last 60 years since winning the competition in 1966.
Tuchel's defensive tactics have been heavily criticised after he opted to bring on defensive trio Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O'Reilly before Fernandez's equaliser.
The German coach looked determined to hang on for a 1-0 win and social media has responded by posing an infamous video of Como boss Fabregas showing how bringing on defenders in that type of situation is a mistake.
"If you are winning 1-0 and you change a midfielder or a striker for a defender, you start to play with a back five. Automatically as a player, your mindset changes, you think 'the manager wants us to defend.'
"You have to sit back and invite the opposition to have the ball and attack more. You can maybe kill them on the counterattack, but 90% of the time, it backfires."
Despite the loss, Tuchel retains the backing of the English FA and he is expected to reman in post, with a contract in place until after UEFA Euro 2028.