Argentina-England: Will another chapter of acrimony unfold at Atlanta?

Modern-day elite sportspersons — be it a Leo Messi or a Harry Kane — are known for their aversion to weighing in on political issues or human tragedies. It will be difficult to find a Diego Maradona, who called his 'hand of God' goal and 2-0 defeat of England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final a ‘revenge’ for the Falklands war.

Times have changed, and the eyes of VAR would never have glossed over such an act of cheating, for which the English have never forgiven the late 'El Diego' to this day. What, of course, offset it was the ‘goal of the century’ which followed, and created a generation of lifetime Maradona loyalists. Today, 40 years later, the memory of that goal is stronger than ever on the eve of the two meeting in the second semi-final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Thursday (12.30 am IST) at Atlanta.

‘’Look, it’s a football game… that’s what we can say. It’s a football game and we will be playing against a very tough opponent,’’ was how Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni tried to diffuse the tension, much as any canny coach would do. It’s easier said than done in view of the chequered history between the two countries — starting from the nasty aftermath of the 1966 quarter-finals, reaching a crescendo with the Maradona game, and easing out but still tainting the last two clashes in 1998 and 2002.

It’s been 24 years since David Beckham secured his redemption after being provoked by Diego Simeone four years earlier into committing a red-card offence, scoring from the spot to give the Three Lions a much-needed win in a group game. However, it was still not enough to take England beyond the group stage.

The only occasion when England had the last laugh in a knockout stage against the South Americans was back in the 1966 quarter-final at home. The hosts prevailed 1-0 on a Geoff Hurst goal, one which Argentina claimed was offside, and it was the tipping point before their captain Antonio Rattin was sent off for two offences in a space of three minutes. Those were the days when the red card was still not in vogue (it was introduced from 1974) and believe it or not, the match was delayed by eight minutes as Rattin refused to leave the pitch.

England, for whom 1966 remains its lone World Cup trophy win, held on in a terribly ill-tempered tie, with folklore saying that their legendary manager Alf Ramsey described the Argentine side as ‘animals’, insisting that their players should not swap shirts in the customary end-of-match ritual. Football historians point to this match as the source of the acrimony behind the England-Argentina rivalry, and one can brace for another chapter in the upcoming tie, with a spot in the final at stake.

If the reigning champions manage to win the day, then Messi’s men will be in line to be the first team to win back-to-back trophies after Pele’s Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Interestingly, this will be Messi’s first World Cup encounter against England in six appearances, which provides an extra edge to the air of anticipation.

When asked about it, Messi told the media after their quarter-final win against Switzerland: ‘’It’s a special match because it’s my first time. I’ve played against everyone except England. And it’s special, as I said before, because they are a big team, a powerhouse. It’s always nice to play against teams like that, in matches like this, especially in the semi-final of a World Cup.’’

Deep down, the champion surely knows that winning the England war on an occasion as big as this will certainly mark that final leap for him to emulate the Maradona legacy, in addition to the one he achieved in style in Qatar 2022.  

The England supporters, for whom the ‘Cup is coming home’ has become an embarrassment of sorts with repeated heartbreaks, will be cautiously optimistic as this will be their third semi-final after 2018.

Thomas Tuchel’s men have, during this tournament, showed that they have learnt to win ugly — against Congo and then Norway. However, Argentina — a master of surviving jailbreaks to win dirty — will be different 'animals' altogether.