ATLANTA — England and Argentina resume one of the fiercest rivalries in international soccer in the World Cup semifinals on Wednesday.
The two teams meet in Atlanta and the winner will play Spain in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday.
“I mean the two shirts are just iconic and the historic matches are iconic,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said.
A fierce rivalry
The World Cup rivalry between the nations dates back to 1962, but it was England’s 1-0 win in the quarterfinals four years later that saw it intensify. Argentina captain Antonio Rattin, whose death was announced on Saturday, was sent off in a bad-tempered match. England went on to win the World Cup for the first, and still the only time, in its history.
Twenty years on in Mexico, Diego Maradona scored the infamous “Hand of God” goal that helped Argentina to a 2-1 win in the quarterfinals on the way to becoming world champion for a second time.
That game also saw Maradona score what many believe to be the greatest World Cup goal ever when he dribbled the ball from the halfway line before beating England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
“That will be forever in our hearts. It was just such a beautiful goal,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “Anybody who loves football will remember that in the best way possible.”
England felt aggrieved again in 1998 when David Beckham was sent off for kicking out at Argentina midfielder Diego Simeone before losing the round-of-16 game on penalties.
Beckham got his revenge four years later by scoring a penalty in a 1-0 win that contributed to Argentina being eliminated at the group stage.
Given the heated rivalry, Tuchel has tried to manage the emotions of his players ahead of the semifinal.
“If a fixture provides so many iconic moments you cannot just say it’s just another football match, but as a coach we do exactly that,” he said. “We don’t speak about the historic events. We don’t speak about the iconic moments.”
Route to the semifinals
Neither team has had a smooth ride to the semifinals.
Argentina survived scares against Cape Verde and Egypt earlier in the knockout rounds and needed extra time to beat 10-man Switzerland 3-1 in the quarterfinals.
England had to rally for wins against Congo and Norway after going a goal down. It also endured a physically exhausting game played at altitude, and being down to 10 men, to beat co-host Mexico 3-2 in the round of 16.
Messi vs. Kane and Bellingham
The seemingly ageless Lionel Messi has been Argentina’s talisman once again, scoring eight goals and also providing crucial assists.
England has relied on its big hitters in Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Both have six goals so far, with Bellingham scoring twice in each of England’s last two games.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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