2026 FIFA World Cup: Semifinals - Argentina vs. England

Argentina Match 102 England
15 July 2026
15:00 local time (12:00 PM PST / 3:00 PM EST)​

Venue: Mercedes Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA) - 68,239 capacity



Argentina previously played Egypt for Round of Sixteen in this stadium, as well as the opening match of the 2024 Copa America in this same stadium (2-0 win vs. Canada).

Argentina and England have played each other in England, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, France, Japan, and even Switzerland, but it will be the first time the two sides face off in the United States.

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Historical head-to-head record:



15 games played: 4 Argentina wins, 5 draws, 6 England wins

As we all know, Argentina and England have an intense rivalry filled with heated, controversial precedents. This will be the first opponent in this tournament that will arrive with a positive head-to-head record in their favor against Argentina. In fact, England is one of the very few teams in the world to lead Argentina in H2H match-ups (the others are Brazil, Norway, and Cameroon).

The first-ever clash between the lifelong rivals happened 75 years ago (1951) in Wembley and ended 2-1 in favor of the English. Mario Heriberto Boye gave Argentina an early lead in the 18th minute, but England managed to flip the score late in the match with goals in 79th and 86th minutes.



Argentina would get their first win vs. England 2 years later (1953) in a friendly match played in the historic Estadio Monumental that finished 3-1 in the albiceleste's favor. The match is legendary for Ernesto Grillo's miraculous "impossible goal" (dubbed as such due to the unconventional angle from which he shot), which inspired the creation of Argentina's annual "dia del futbolista argentino" (celebrated every May 14th).



The two would face each other again just three days later in the same venue, but the match was suspended in the 23rd minute due to torrential rain and subsequently recorded as a final 0-0 draw. It is estimated that 100,000 people attended this match and is considered the highest-attended match on home soil in Argentine futbol history.



The two sides would not see each other again until the next decade, when they’d face each other three times (including twice at the WC, both finishing in England's favor).

The first of the three 1960's encounters took place in Chile 1962 in the second match of Group 2 and finished 3-1 for the three lions. This game ultimately cost Argentina a spot in the quarterfinals, as England and Argentina finished tied in second place in the group with 3 points, but England advanced due to goal difference (or rather, goal ratio at the time).

Four years later, England would again deal Argentina with a difficult blow as they eliminated them in Quarterfinals of the World Cup. Geoff Hurst clinched a goal in the 78th minute to give the host nation a final 1-0 win. The match is marred by controversy, as Hurst's goal was in offside position and Argentina captain Antonio Rattin was expelled in the 36th minute under extremely dubious circumstances. For such reasons, this game is often remembered as "el robo del siglo" (the robbery of the century). Per Wikipedia:

The game, however, was particularly noted for the sending off of Argentina captain Antonio Rattín after receiving his second caution of the game. The Argentines considered the second caution to be unfair, including Rattín himself, who had to be escorted from the pitch by police as he refused to leave the pitch. Rattín was cautioned at the start of the match for a lunge on Bobby Charlton. Rattín then fouled Geoff Hurst and received another caution (the use of yellow/red cards would not be adopted until the next World Cup in Mexico) for arguing with the referee for a teammate's foul.

It was reported in Argentina that the West German referee, Rudolf Kreitlein, said that he had sent off Rattín because he did not like how he had looked at him, while British newspapers cited the official as having given the reason as "violence of the tongue", despite the referee speaking no Spanish. Rattín's intention appeared to have been to speak with the German referee, as according to the Argentines, he was ruling in favour of the English team. Rattín made a visible signal showing his captain's armband and intention to call a translator.

Ken Aston, the English supervisor of referees, entered the field to try to persuade Rattín to leave, but he only exacerbated the situation since the Latin American teams had already suspected that the English and Germans were collaborating to eliminate them from the competition. After his dismissal, Rattín scrunched the corner flag (featuring the Union Jack) with his hand before finally sitting down on the ground. After the match, England manager Alf Ramsey refused to allow his players to swap shirts with the Argentines (as is traditional after the conclusion of a major football match) and later described the South Americans as "animals" in the press.​

Interestingly enough, this match is what lead FIFA to create the yellow/red card system.

In between the two WC losses, however, Argentina did defeat England 1-0 in Rio de Janeiro for the Taça das Nações/Copa Naciones ("Little World Cup"; a mini international tournament hosted by Brazil, featuring them alongside Argentina, England, and Portugal). This tournament featured the likes of Pele, Bobby Charlton, Gerson, Onega, Jairzinho, Artime, and more. Alfredo "El Tanque" Rojas scored the only goal of the game, which essentially was responsible for giving Argentina the title (this was the last match of the tournament, and had Argentina lost, Brazil would have been champions instead).



Following the three games in the 60's, Argentina and England would play a succession of friendly matches in which Argentina failed to find the win (2-2 in 1974, 1-1 in 1977, and 3-1 England win in 1980).

Finally, in the 1986 World Cup Quarterfinals, the long-awaited revenge against the English arrived. A mind-boggling crowd of 114,580 attendees were present that scorching summer day in Mexico's Estadio Azteca to watch Argentina decimate the English into complete rubble. The encounter already began with a loaded pretext, as the Falkland War a few years earlier and the 1966 "robo del siglo" were still fresh in the public's mind. Perhaps the most memorable soccer match of all-time, the game was defined as we all know by Diego Armando Maradona's iconic "Hand of God" and "Goal of the Century" goals in a four minute succession. Gary Lineker shortened the difference in the 81st minute for England, but the goal ultimately made no difference.



Following the game, Maradona stated: "Although we had said before the game that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas war, we knew they had killed a lot of Argentine boys there, killed them like little birds. And this was revenge." Roberto Perfumo also stated that "in 1986, winning that game against England was enough. Winning the World Cup was secondary for us. Beating England was our real aim."



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq2cuK1vuzk

Full 1986 match

The next match between Argentina and England took place in May 1991 in Wembley (the 5th time they would play in this venue) for the "1991 England Challenge Cup" and finished 2-2. Argentina fielded an alternative, almost completely domestic side that evening (Diego Simeone, who had joined Pisa a year earlier, was the only player in the roster playing in Europe). Basile was seeking to "reinvent" the team following the 1990 loss and was experimenting ahead of the upcoming 1991 Copa America, which was set to start two months later. Maradona was unavailable, due to serving a 15-month cocaine doping suspension that began just two months before this game.

In the 1998 World Cup, Argentina and England gave us yet another absolutely memorable banger. Argentina found the lead early in the 6th minute thanks to a Gabriel Batistuta penalty, although England were able to flip the script quickly with a controversial 10th minute Alan Shearer PK and a 16th minute golazo by Michael Owen (considered one of the goals of the tournament). Argentina would find the 2-2 draw right before halftime in the 45th minute thanks to a strike by Javier Zanetti. Subsequently, they'd win 4-3 on a penalty shootout (Crespo missed his PK, while Paul Ince and David Batty had theirs stopped by Roa) to define the series and proceed to Quarterfinals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqdtTN277kI

The partial 1-1 tie in the first half is remembered for being the result of a clear-as-day dive by Michael Owen, who later claimed he felt guilty for diving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzHVpBINPkQ

David Beckham also received a red card early in the second half when the game was still 2-2 after being baited by Diego Simeone. Beckham would later recall this as "the most difficult moment" in his career, as he received intense scrutiny from both the English press and fans for his actions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zTne4JzgBM&pp=ygUPYmVja2hhbSBzaW1lb25l





The two would play again in 2000 for an international friendly (again, in Wembley Stadium), although the match ended in an unremarkable 0-0 draw. However, 2 years later, they would face each other in the World Cup for the 5th time (following 1962, 1966, 1986, and 1998) in a highly anticipated match for Group F. David Beckham, who arrived with a thirst for revenge following his 1998 debacle, scored the winning goal in the 44th minute through a penalty kick following a foul in the box by Mauricio Pochettino. This result was ultimately the catalyst for Argentina's shocking early tournament exit in the group stage of Korea/Japan 2002.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0auFwzzXus

The final and most recent match between Argentina and England happened on November 23, 2005, and none of the players present that day for either side remain professionally active. Messi had made his international debut just 3 months before this match, but was not called-up due to having to serve a suspension for his red card against Hungary in said match (as a result, Messi has never faced England to this day, as is often highlighted). Argentina found the lead twice thanks to goals by Hernan Crespo and Walter Samuel, respectively, but ultimately were not able to hang onto the lead as England clinched a dramatic, late win with two goals by Michael Owen in the 87th and 90th minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1WHQNncMzE&pp=ygUWYXJnZW50aW5hIGVuZ2xhbmQgMjAwNQ==

Maradona, Kempes, Batistuta, and Passarella have all scored on England.. lets see if anybody can join this historic group on Wednesday.

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England's historical WC record:

- 2026 is their 17th ever participation in a FIFA World Cup

- Last Participation: 2022 (Quarterfinals; lost 2-1 to France)

- Best finish: Champions (1966)

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England's form leading up to the WC:

- Their most recent encounter vs. a CONMEBOL side was a 1-1 draw with Uruguay in March 2026. Previously, they had lost to Brazil 1-0 in March 2024.

- Finished first in Group K in the 2026 UEFA WCQs, wrapping up their WCQ campaign with a perfect record of 8 wins, 0 draws, and 0 losses. Also did not concede a single goal in any of the 8 games.

- UEFA Euro Championship:

Most recent participation: 2024, 2nd place (lost 2-1 to Spain in the final)

In the qualifiers for the Euros, they finished 1st in Group C with 6 wins, 2 draws (vs. Ukraine and North Macedonia), and 0 losses.
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- UEFA Nations League:

Most recent participation: 2024-25, 1st place in Group B2 (5 wins and a 2-1 loss to Greece; promoted to Group A for upcoming Nations League)​

- 10 most recent results:

- March 2026: 1-1 D vs. Uruguay
- March 2026: 1-0 L vs. Japan
- June 2026: 1-0 W vs. New Zealand
- June 2026: 3-0 W vs. Costa Rica
- June 2026: 4-2 W vs. Croatia
- June 2026: 0-0 D vs. Ghana
- June 2026: 2-0 W vs. Panama
- June 2026: 2-1 W vs. DR Congo
- July 2026: 3-2 W vs. Mexico
- July 2026: 2-1 (aet) W vs. Norway​

 

Btw, this is still all written by me... none of this is AI. So @Pekerman tone it down with the thread creation intimidation

 

Scaloni been hating the brits