image source, Getty Images
image caption, The football match between England and Argentina is not limited to just one game. Many experts believe that this is the biggest “battle” of the beautiful game.….IN
- Author, Andy Cryer
- designation, Senior BBC Sports Journalist
published Jul 15, 2026 04:57 PM IST
Reading time: 9 minutes.
World Championship semi-final. England vs Argentina. A rivalry that will be remembered for generations.
Words are not enough to fully describe the importance of this match.
Lionel Messi will play against England for the first time in his career on Wednesday in Atlanta. Reigning world champions Argentina will try to stop England ending their 60-year wait.
This World Cup rivalry between the two countries began in 1962. Since then there have been spectacular goals, controversies and red cards.
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But this rivalry is not limited to just the field. Relations between the two countries were particularly dominated by political tensions associated with the Falklands War in the 1980s. Argentine players and fans still remember this conflict in football songs.
Ahead of one of the biggest matches in England’s history, BBC Sport looks back at the two sides’ World Cup rivalry.
Many may be surprised to learn that in the five matches played between the two teams at the World Cup, England came out on top.
The last meeting between the two teams at the World Championships took place in 2002. In such a situation, a significant part of the younger generation of both countries might not even remember this rivalry. That’s why BBC Sport looks back on six decades of controversy.
1962: England 3-1 Argentina (Rancagua, Chile – group stage)
image source, Keystone/Getty Images
image caption, 7 June 1962: England beat Argentina 3-1 in a World Cup match in Rancagua.
Compared to what was to happen next, this match was quite calm.
England took an early 3-0 lead and Argentina were unable to overcome the lead. Argentina finally scored a goal.
Both teams finished the group stage with one win, one draw and one loss. But thanks to better goal difference, England overtook Argentina to advance to the next round.
England were eliminated by Brazil in the quarter-finals.
1966: England 1-0 Argentina (Wembley, England, quarter-final)
image source, Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
image caption, After the match, German referee Kreitlin left the field under police protection. He sent off Argentine player Antonio Rattin during the quarter-final match between England and Argentina. This caused excitement in the stadium.
Was this the moment when the football rivalry between the two countries really escalated?
Both teams went head-to-head in the quarterfinals. Argentina still claim they were treated unfairly and that Geoff Hurst’s winning goal was ruled offside.
But the disputes did not stop there. Argentina captain Antonio Ratin was shown a red card in the 33rd minute of the match for two incidents in just three minutes.
The first incident was the fall of English player Bobby Charlton. Secondly, for constant disputes with the German referee Rudolf Krietline.
Rathin refused to leave the field, causing the match to be stopped for approximately eight minutes.
In this very tense match England maintained their lead. England coach Alf Ramsey called Argentina “animals”.
George Cohen, a defender in England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team, recalled the match to The Guardian in 2009.
He said: “The tackles were good. But some of the actions were very vile. Spitting, pulling the hair on the back of the head, pulling the ears. They tried to scare us. The problem was that when they realized their ploy wasn’t going to work, they started behaving in ways I’d never seen before.”
“My biggest regret is that they didn’t play the football they could have played. We probably would have lost, but they just had to play their game.”
It is also believed that after this match the way was opened for the introduction of red and yellow cards. They were first used at the 1970 World Championships in Mexico. Previously, judges only issued verbal warnings.
Ratin, who represented Argentina from 1959 to 1969 and played in the 1962 and 1966 World Cups, died on Saturday aged 89.
1986: Argentina 2-1 England (Mexico City, Mexico – quarter-finals)
image source, Allsport/Getty Images
image caption, In the quarter-final match, Diego Maradona scored the famous “Hand of God” goal by leaping high over England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
“Hand of God” Ahh!
This quarter-final took place just four years after the Falklands War, in which the two countries faced each other. This was not just a football rivalry. Political tensions were also very deep.
The Argentine media and public saw the match as a way to express their anger at the war. At the same time, the British media also used nationalist rhetoric to further increase tensions between the two countries.
Lourdes Heredia of the BBC World Service, who was at the Azteca Stadium, said: “My father didn’t want his ‘princess’ to go there. He worried that tensions might rise between Argentina and England fans. But my mother did not hesitate at all. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
This match was a moment that no English football fan of the era can ever forget. Diego Maradona’s talent put Argentina ahead.
But not with feet, but with hands.
Argentina number 10 Maradona jumped to retrieve the ball alongside England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and, unnoticed, sent the ball into the empty net.
I wish there was VAR back then!
It can definitely be said in Maradona’s favor that after this he probably scored the most brilliant goal in the history of the World Cup. He dodged the England half, crossed for Shilton and doubled Argentina’s lead by sending the ball into the goal.
Heredia said: “When I lived and worked in Argentina, people often talked about the Hand of God. But to do so is to forget how wonderful the second goal was. Almost unbelievable.”
England star Gary Lineker eventually scored, but it made no difference and England crashed out of the World Cup in highly controversial circumstances.
Maradona apologized for this in 2005. But Shilton did not accept these apologies.
To top it all off, Argentina won the World Cup, beating West Germany in the final.
1998: Argentina 2-2 England (Argentina wins 4-3 on penalties, France Round of 16)
image source, GERARD MALI/AFP via Getty Images
image caption, Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta celebrates Javier Zanetti’s goal just before half-time
It was a match David Beckham will never forget.
This match will forever be remembered for Beckham’s hit on Argentine Diego Simeone and the subsequent red card.
Prior to this, Gabriel Batistuta and Alan Shearer scored goals from penalties. Michael Owen then gave England a 2-1 lead with one of the most spectacular goals in his country’s World Cup history.
Owen scored a brilliant individual goal to put the Argentine defense behind him. But before the break, Javier Zanetti’s clever free-kick leveled the score.
After Beckham’s red card, England continued to fight bravely. In the 81st minute, Sol Campbell’s header thought he had won, but the goal was disallowed due to a push.
The match went to a penalty shootout. Argentina won after David Batty and Paul Ince missed penalties. However, he was eliminated by the Netherlands in the next round.
Adding fuel to the rivalry, Simeone said a year later: “All I can say is that the referees fell into our trap.”
“It was also difficult for him to avoid it because I was falling well and in such situations there is a lot of tension.”
“You could say that my fall turned a yellow card into a red card. But in fact, a yellow card was the most appropriate punishment.”
2002: England 1-0 Argentina (Sapporo, Japan – group stage)
image source, Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
image caption, England’s Danny Mills and Argentina’s Claudio Lopez run during the FIFA World Cup Group F match between Argentina and England in Sapporo, Japan, June 7, 2002.
This match will be remembered as the return of Beckham.
Beckham, who captained the team, scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot. Michael Owen was brought down by Mauricio Pochettino.
This victory was very important for England after a draw with Sweden in the first match of the group stage.
England advanced to the next round with a goalless draw against Nigeria in their final group stage match. Argentina, who drew 1-1 with Sweden, were eliminated before the knockout stages for the first time since 1962.
England defeated Denmark in the round of 16. But they were eliminated in the quarter-finals after defeat by Brazil and Ronaldinho’s brave free-kick goal.
BBC Sport chief football correspondent Phil McNulty recalls: “The Sapporo Dome witnessed the comeback of Beckham and England during the 2002 World Cup in Japan.”
“There was still tension between the two teams after Beckham’s red card against Argentina four years ago in France and the painful defeat on penalties in the last 16. So this match was extremely intense.”
“England ended up winning 1-0. Beckham scored a penalty a minute before half-time. This penalty was awarded when Pochettino, who became the future Tottenham manager, was found guilty of fouling Owen. This decision was also controversial.”
Published by the BBC News Team.