England, Argentina will renew a tough rivalry in the semi final of the World Cup
England and Argentina face each other on Wednesday in a World Cup semi-final that has been fraught with decades of rivalry after facing Norway and Switzerland respectively in the quarter-finals.
The South American team and their star Lionel Messi must beat England in Atlanta to keep alive their hopes of becoming the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1962.
Advertisement
England and their key partnership of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane must win to hope to end their 60-year wait for a major trophy.
The winner of that game will face the winner of the semi-final between France and Spain — they will meet in Texas on Tuesday — in the final on July 19.
The match between Argentina and England came 40 years after the earthquake in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Mexico in 1986.
Argentina won 2-1 at the Estadio Azteca thanks to two goals from Diego Maradona — one with the famous “Hand of God” as he hit the net and the other with a stunning solo effort that is considered one of the greatest World Cup goals ever.
Advertisement
For Maradona’s heir, Messi, it will be his 206th game wearing the Albiceleste shirt, but his first against England.
The game will also be set against the background of the ongoing sovereignty dispute in the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, known in Spanish as the Malvinas.
Britain sent a military contingent in 1982 to retake the islands after an invasion by Argentine forces.
After Argentina beat struggling Switzerland 3-1 in Kansas City on Saturday thanks to extra-time goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez, their coach Lionel Scaloni tried to take the political heat out of the meeting with England.
Advertisement
“The message is that this is a football game. That’s what I can say,” said Scaloni.
“It’s a football game and we will be playing against a strong opponent. They have a good coach, this is a football game and that’s all.”
– ‘Great luck’ –
That coach, Thomas Tuchel, was furious with his England team after they needed extra time on Saturday to end Norway’s history in Miami.
Two goals from Jude Bellingham gave England a 2-1 victory that put them into the semi-finals for only the fourth time in history.
Tuchel said his team will have to make significant improvements if they are to have a chance to enter the final.
Advertisement
In the sweltering heat and humidity in Florida, England’s faltering defense allowed Andreas Schjelderup to unleash a blistering shot from the left to put Norway ahead on 36 minutes.
But England got a big break in the first half when Bellingham equalized after a counterattack that began when Norwegian goalkeeper Orjan Nyland’s ball appeared to hit the overhead camera cable.
The Norwegian players protested to no avail. The Norwegians also had a goal disallowed in contention before Bellingham fouled out the winner in overtime.
“We made life very difficult for us today,” Tuchel said afterwards.
Advertisement
“The result is very good. The final four are amazing, but they are not happy with the performance… we were very lucky today.”
Although the governing body of football in the world FIFA later said that there was “no evidence” that the ball hit the net before England’s first goal was scored, Norwegian coach Stale Solbakken disagreed.
“That was unfortunate for us,” said Solbakken. “The ball fell from the sky, so it changed its direction. But we can’t do anything about that.”
Erling Haaland, the striker who scored seven goals as Norway reached uncharted waters in the tournament, said his team’s performance inspired the new generation.
Advertisement
“The way we put Norway on the map is probably the thing that affects me the most,” said Haaland, who failed to score for the first time in 15 competitive games for his country.
“We hope that now we can create something when it comes to the Euros, the World Cup and everything because our generation is amazing and all this gives inspiration to Norwegian youth that they can play on the biggest stage in the world with a Norwegian shirt.”
bha-nf/pdw
