England-Argentina World Cup semifinal reignites painful historic rivalry

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London — The semifinal clash between England and Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Wednesday saw two bitter rivals face off in one of the most emotionally charged matches of the tournament. 

The contest saw Lionel Messi, considered by many to be one of the best soccer players in the world, play against England for the first time in his long and storied career — and rack up a win, with 2-1 victory sending Argentina to the final. On the other side were England’s all-time top goal scorer Harry Kane, and one of the stars of the tournament, Jude Bellingham. 

Previous matches between the two countries have produced some of the sport’s most iconic moments. But this rivalry goes well beyond the soccer field.

The Falklands War

Diplomatic relations between England and Argentina remain strained to this day over two small islands off Argentina’s Atlantic coast. To the U.K., they are the Falklands, but Argentina calls them the Malvinas.

In the 18th century, France, Spain and Britain all tried to lay claim to the islands, establishing early colonial settlements. France agreed to leave the islands in 1766, leaving Spanish settlers to force out the British, who withdrew in 1774. 

The Spanish then left in the early 19th century, leaving a newly independent government in Buenos Aires to claim the islands 300 miles off the country’s coast as Argentina’s own.

The sovereignty dispute reignited in 1833, however, when British forces arrived to reclaim the islands, expelling the Argentinian population and replacing it with Britons.

In 1982, an Argentinian military junta launched an attack on the islands and quickly captured the territory, sparking a 10-week war that killed 907 people, more than a third of whom were Argentinian sailors on the ARA General Belgrano cruiser that was sunk by a British submarine in a highly controversial attack.

Facing superior military force, Argentina surrendered the islands, which remain dominated more than three decades later by a British population.

Las Malvinas remain a bitter point of contention for the South American nation.

“The Hand of God”

Only four years after the conflict, Argentina and England faced off in a World Cup quarterfinal in Mexico City’s gargantuan Azteca Stadium, which was packed with 114,000 people.

Early in the second half, the ball looped fortuitously to Diego Maradona, one of the sport’s greatest players of all time, who leapt into the air and hit the ball with his fist into the back of the net.

The referee didn’t register the hand contact, and the goal stood. 

“A few minutes later, Maradona then scored possibly the greatest goal in the history of the World Cup,” soccer journalist Joey D’urso told CBS News. It sealed Argentina’s fate — the match finished 2-1.

Asked afterward if he had scored his first goal legally, Maradona replied that it was “a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God.”

In a 2019 documentary, he described it as “like some sort of symbolic revenge against the English” for their invasion of the Malvinas. 

A year later, on the occasion of his 60th birthday, he told France Football magazine: “I dream to score another goal against the English, this time with the right hand.”

In 1998, Argentina beat England on penalty shots in a game that saw David Beckham red carded and which then-England captain Alan Shearer said on Wednesday “still hurts now.“

In 2002, Beckham scored a penalty to help England beat Argentina 1-0 in a World Cup group match — the two teams’ last competitive fixture.

“For Malvinas, for Diego”

The Wednesday night rematch in Atlanta set the stage for Sunday’s final against Spain for World Cup glory. But the historical significance of the game is inescapable.

After beating Switzerland 3-1 on Saturday, Messi — who is often compared to Maradona — and his teammates sang “The Fourth Star,” the country’s alternative World Cup anthem. 

“For Malvinas, for Diego,” they chanted.

Gary Linekar, who scored England’s consolation goal in the 1986 game and is now a well-known soccer commentator in the U.K., said Tuesday that he wants “revenge this time round” for the loss.

Ahead of Wednesday’s clash, Argentina’s coach Lionel Scaloni has tried to play down the historical significance. 

“It is a football game and that is all,” he said. 

But Argentina forward Jose Lopez has promised that he and his teammates would “leave our lives on the field.” 

“Obviously, inside and outside the four lines of the pitch it’s a match that has a lot of history there, a lot of pain and a lot of things behind it,” he said.

England coach Thomas Tuchel said in the run-up to the game that Argentina’s players “are fueled by history, it means a lot to them. … But we are also emotional. We have the grit. We have the mentality that it takes to go up against it, and we are ready for it.”

“Argentina versus England has become a classic,” Víctor Hugo Morales, a Uruguayan journalist whose commentary on the 1986 match has been immortalized in Argentina, told The Guardian recently. “Before 1986, it was just another match. Since then, it has carried a political and emotional weight that goes far beyond football.”