World Cup holders Argentina are to faceĀ EnglandĀ in the 2026 World Cup semifinal in Atlanta ā€“ a match that will take place against the background of an intense history between the two nations.
In April 1982, the unpopular General Leopoldo Galtieri, who led Argentina under a military junta at the time, ordered an invasion of the Falkland Islands, which are known to Argentinians as “Las Malvinas.”Ā Great Britain’sĀ then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sent a “task force” of approximately 26,000 troops to take back the territory. The conflict lastedĀ 74 daysĀ and ended with Argentina’s surrender on June 14, 1982.Ā
Argentines see the roots of that conflict as going back to 1833, when the United Kingdom took military control of the islands, located about 500Ā kilometers (300 miles) off Argentina’s eastern coast, from Argentine authorities. In 2016, ArgentinaĀ sought negotiations with the United Kingdom over the Falklands. While no changes to sovereignty were made, there was cooperation on practical matters.
Argentina’s ‘revenge’
When asked about the significance of this history on the game, Argentina’s head coach Lionel Scaloni was quick to shut that thinking down.
“No, no, no,”Ā Scaloni said, emphatically. “This is just a football match. Letā€™s not look for other stuff. Itā€™s a football game against a great team, with a great manager who I admire. But itā€™s a football match. End of.”
Nevertheless, Argentina’s Vice President Victoria Villarruel posted the following message on social media the day of the game:Ā
“Tomorrow we play against the usurping pirates. This isn’t just another match. I’m not going to be politically correct or cold-hearted; against the English, it’s always something more. It’s the Malvinas, it’s Diego, it’s Leo’s last one, and it’s putting the brakes on the invaders. Go Argentina! Because until our last breath, we’re going to claim what’s ours!”
On the field, some of the most iconic and infamous moments in the history of football have happened between the two nations, which is a huge reason why the rivalry is so intense.
It starts perhaps as far back as 1966, when England beat Argentina in the quarterfinals. Argentina felt England’s goal scored by Geoff Hurst was offside and the Argentina captain Antonio Rattin was sent off in controversial fashion, with England’s heead coach Alf Ramsey calling the Argentine players “animals”.
But it was in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup, just four years after the war over the Falklands,Ā that one of the most iconic and infamous moments occurred.Ā England facedĀ Argentina at Mexico City’s historic Azteca Stadium and the match is remembered for the “Hand of God,” the goal that Diego Maradona scored with his hand ā€“ but also a brilliant second goal, in which he weaved through a helpless English defense.
Years later, Maradona wrote in his autobiography published in 2000: “This was our revenge, it was… recovering a part of the Malvinas. We all said beforehand that we shouldn’t mix the two things but that was a lie. A lie! We didn’t think of anything except that, like hell it was going to be just another game.”
In 1998, the two teams met again on the world’s stage and this time David Beckham was sent off as Argentina eventually won on penalties. Beckham faced extraordinary media criticism afterwards, but four years later, the England captain got his revenge as he scored a penalty that helped England to victory and sentĀ ArgentinaĀ home before the knockouts.
A step away from historyĀ
This long history between the two makes the 2026 semifinal all the more intriguing.
This currentĀ Argentina team, led by Lionel Messi,Ā hasĀ the opportunity to become the firstĀ nation to defend their World Cup title since Brazil in 1962. For England, it’s been six decades since they last made a World Cup final, famously one they won at home in 1966. Whoever wins, whoever scores the winner out of Lionel Messi or Harry Kane, another chapter looks set to be written in one of football’s greatest rivalries.
Edited by: Jonathan Harding