Argentina cool rivalry talk ahead of England World Cup semi-final

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni insisted there is nothing more than football at stake when his team faces England in their July 15 World Cup semi-final, despite a rivalry steeped in decades of sporting drama and political tension.

The meeting revives one of international football’s most storied rivalries, shaped by England’s victory over Argentina at the 1966 World Cup, the 1982 Falklands War and Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal at the 1986 tournament.

The teams also met at the 1998 World Cup, when Argentina advanced on penalties in the round of 16, and in 2002, when David Beckham’s goal secured a 1-0 group-stage win for England and helped send favourites Argentina home early.

After his side beat Switzerland 3-1 following extra time on July 11 to book a clash against their old rivals, Scaloni said their showdown should be viewed as nothing more than a game.

“It’s a football match. Period. There’s nothing more to it,” he told reporters after Argentina kept alive their bid to win back-to-back titles, booking a clash against England in Atlanta after the Europeans edged Norway 2-1.

“Let’s not look for anything else,” Scaloni said. “It’s a soccer match. We’re going to play a football match against a great national team that has a great coach whom I appreciate and admire a lot.”

The Falklands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas, remain a sensitive issue between the two countries more than four decades after the 1982 conflict, which killed 649 Argentine military personnel along with 255 British personnel and three Falkland Islanders.

Britain claims sovereignty over the Falklands and maintains a military presence there, while Argentina continues to press its claim through diplomatic channels and international bodies such as the United Nations.

The topic has resurfaced during the tournament, with Argentina supporters and players singing a chant that references the islands, Maradona and Lionel Messi’s quest to end his international career with a second World Cup trophy.

Argentina forward Jose Manuel Lopez acknowledged the historical weight surrounding the fixture, but said the players would approach it professionally.

“Obviously, outside the four lines of the pitch, it’s a match-up that has a lot of history, a lot of pain, and a lot behind it,” he told reporters.

“But we’re professionals. We’re going to play it the way we play every match, until the very last second, as we showed tonight, leaving everything out there.

“It’s a World Cup semi-final, a game that I think all of my teammates have dreamed of playing since we first started kicking a ball. We don’t need any more motivation than that,” Lopez added. REUTERS