Atlanta (AFP) – Lionel Messi’s Argentina clash with England in a marquee World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, with European champions Spain lying in wait for the winners. The fixture between two of the big beasts of global football is given added spice by a lingering sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Malvinas, in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Argentina’s Vice President Victoria Villarruel upped the stakes ahead of kick-off in Atlanta by calling the English “usurping pirates,” despite efforts by head coach Lionel Scaloni to keep the focus on the game. The three-time champions are seeking to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups. England, whose fans are likely to be vastly outnumbered in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, are gearing up for arguably their biggest match since winning their sole World Cup in 1966.
Related news
Messi, joint top of the Golden Boot standings with eight goals, inspired his team to victory in Qatar in 2022 in what was expected to be his final hurrah on football’s biggest stage. But at the age of 39, he is back for more and has played a pivotal role in dragging his team to the semi-finals, scoring in hard-fought 3-2 victories against Cape Verde and Egypt. Argentina will be taking on a different class of opponent compared with teams they have faced so far, even if England have only sparkled intermittently. Thomas Tuchel’s men have relied on the brilliance of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who have scored 12 of England’s 13 goals.
The sides are meeting for the first time in a competitive match since the 2002 World Cup. Tuchel said he did not feel extra pressure despite the historic nature of the fixture as England target a first World Cup final in 60 years. “I don’t feel a burden,” he said. “We feel the tension and will be nervous, but that is normal. What I like is that I feel the players are really competitive, hungry, and excited to play this match.” The German added that midfielder Declan Rice, who has been struggling with illness, was fit to start.
– Drama –
The history of the blockbuster fixture is littered with drama. Their most storied World Cup encounter was a 2-1 victory for Argentina in the quarter-finals in Mexico in 1986, featuring two goals from the late Diego Maradona — one the infamous “Hand of God” goal and the other a dazzling solo effort. Twelve years later, at France 1998, David Beckham was sent off for a foul on Diego Simeone as Argentina beat England on penalties.
Matches between the teams stir memories of the Falkland Islands war in 1982, when then-British prime minister Margaret Thatcher sent a military taskforce to reclaim the islands after Argentine troops invaded. Scaloni has in recent days sought to take the sting out of the fixture. “The reality is this is a football match,” he said. “I am not going to mix everything up, especially regarding things that happened so long ago. It was a very sad time in our history and we can’t do much about it. This is a football game, that’s all.”
But Argentina vice-president Villarruel, whose father fought in the war, was less reticent. “Tomorrow we play against the usurping pirates. It’s not just another match,” Villarruel said in a post on X. “I’m not going to be politically correct or keep a cool head — it’s always something more against the English,” Villarruel wrote.
Outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who faced pleas in the House of Commons to end his premiership with a World Cup win, wished England well. “Of course, it’s only under Labour governments that we win the World Cup,” he joked, referring to England’s only previous World Cup win 60 years ago, which happened under the centre-left party.
The two teams — both ranked by FIFA in the world’s top four — are competing for the right to face Spain in Sunday’s final in New Jersey. Luis de la Fuente’s team produced a masterclass in Arlington, Texas, to beat favourites France 2-0 on Tuesday.
© 2024 AFP
