Flyhalf George Ford kicked England to a remarkable 27-10 World Cup victory over Argentina on Saturday in a performance full of intensity and tactical guile and all the more astonishing as the 2019 runner-up played with 14 men from the third minute.

Ford, starting in the place of the suspended Owen Farrell, scored all the points, including a record-equaling three drop goals in a 10-minute first-half blitz that seemed to sap Argentina¡¯s spirit.

England was unrecognizable from the team that had lost six of its nine games under coach Steve Borthwick, showing pace and invention in attack and fierce determination in defense.