ARGENTINA VS. ENGLAND : A MATCH FOR ALL SEASONS
Preview by Kabs Kanu ( Veteran Sportswriter )
International football’s most bitter rivalry comes to a head when Argentina, led by Lionel Messi and England, propelled by Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, clash in a no- holds- barred semi- final of the 2026 World Cup in Atlanta, Georgia this afternoon.
With Spain beating favorites France 2-0 yesterday and lying in wait for one of them in Sunday’s grand final , Argentina and England go to war with 64 years of bitter feud between them shouldering.
For those who do not know, like the young bloggers and social media activists, there is a 64-year feud between Argentina and England that is one of soccer’s most grueling international rivalries.
It was ignited in 1966 in England when Argentina’s captain Antonio Rattin refused to leave the pitch after a controversial ejection. England ended winning the trophy following that epic 4-2 cup final victory over the then West Germany.
The bad blood fueled by that incident intensified following the 1982 Falklands War when England invaded Argentinian territory.
It reached a boiling point with Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal in 1986 that eliminated England from the World Cup.
During the 1966 World Cup quarter-final, Argentina captain Antonio Rattín was sent off for continuous arguing. He refused to leave for nearly 10 minutes, eventually sitting on the Queen’s royal carpet. England manager Alf Ramsey subsequently labeled the Argentine players “animals”. This insult never went down well with the Argentines.
The 1982 Falklands War was a real-world geopolitical conflict which gave future soccer matchups between Argentina and England an insidious political weight. For Argentina, winning on the soccer pitch against England is always deeply tied to national pride and revenge for the war.
During the 1986 “Hand of God” in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals, Diego Maradona scored a blatant goal with his fist, followed closely by the legendary “Goal of the Century”. Argentina knocked England out 2-1 and went on to win the tournament. England has never forgotten that injustice.
In the 1998 World Cup, England suffered when David Beckham was red-carded after lashing out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone. Argentina eventually won on penalty kicks. Media in both countries blew the event out of proportions but England had a sense of redemption in the 2002 World Cup, as Beckham got his revenge by scoring the winning penalty in a group-stage matchup that eliminated Argentina from the World Cup.
There is no doubt that the two nations will reignite this storied rivalry in today’s massive World Cup semi-final showdown in Atlanta.
There will be other proxy battles—-the desperation to win the golden boot , for instance, between Lionel Messi of Argentina and Harry Kane of England.Messi has scored 8 goals and Harry Kane 6 . Both men will be fighting to add to their tallies to end up outdoing the other and this will add another thrilling tinge to the match. Who will prevail : Messi or Kane ?
There is not much to choose between both teams for the two of them have been mostly underwhelming in their performances in this World Cup. England have been scraping through while Argentina are accused of being helped by questionable refereeing and VAR decisions. But expect both to rise to the occasion in Atlanta this afternoon.
The match is expected to be entertaining and an edge-of – the- seat thriller . If the referees do not mess up things, the world is braced for another soccer epic this afternoon that will always be remembered like previous clashes between them.
May the better team win.
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