England and Argentina meet in the World Cup semi-finals in Atlanta on Wednesday, with Lionel Messi facing England for the very first time in his career.
Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions stand between Argentina and a place in the final, carrying the weight of 60 years of hurt into this iconic encounter.
The World Cup rivalry between these two nations stretches back to 1962, encompassing wonder goals, controversial red cards, and moments that have defined generations of football supporters.
Off the pitch, political tensions rooted in the Falklands War have intensified the animosity, with Argentina players and fans still referencing the conflict in football songs to this day.
England actually lead Argentina in World Cup head-to-heads across five meetings, though it has been a long time since the Three Lions won one that truly mattered on the biggest stage.
The sides first met in Chile in 1962, with goals from Ron Flowers, Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Greaves securing a comfortable 3-1 group stage victory for England.
The rivalry truly ignited at Wembley in 1966, when Argentina captain Antonio Rattin was sent off after just 33 minutes for a trip on Bobby Charlton and persistent dissent toward German referee Rudolf Kreitlein.
Rattin’s refusal to leave the pitch delayed the match for almost eight minutes, and England boss Alf Ramsey furiously described the Argentine side as “animals” while refusing to let his players swap shirts after the bad-tempered 1-0 win.
England defender George Cohen recalled the match years later, saying: “I just consider it the greatest shame that they didn’t play the game they were capable of. We might even have got beaten but they just should have got on and shown what they could do.”
The 1966 clash is widely believed to have contributed to the introduction of red and yellow cards, which were first used at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, replacing the previous system of verbal warnings.
Rattin, who played for Argentina from 1959 to 1969 and appeared at both the 1962 and 1966 World Cups, died at the age of 89 on Saturday.
The rivalry reached its most infamous moment in Mexico City in 1986, when Diego Maradona punched Argentina into the lead against England in a quarter-final played just four years after the Falklands War.
Maradona then scored what many consider the greatest World Cup goal of all time, dribbling through half the England team before rounding goalkeeper Peter Shilton and slotting home.
Gary Lineker pulled one back late on, but England were eliminated in circumstances that remain deeply controversial, with Maradona not apologising until 2005 — an apology Peter Shilton publicly rejected.
In France in 1998, David Beckham’s red card for kicking out at Diego Simeone overshadowed a thrilling 2-2 draw, with England losing 4-3 on penalties after Sol Campbell’s late header was controversially ruled out for a push.
Simeone later admitted: “You could say that my falling transformed a yellow card into a red card. But in fact, the most appropriate punishment was a yellow one.”
The most recent meeting came in Japan in 2002, where Beckham had his revenge, scoring the only goal from the penalty spot after Owen was fouled by Mauricio Pochettino to send Argentina crashing out in the group stage.
BBC Sport’s chief football reporter Phil McNulty reflected: “The futuristic Sapporo Dome was the scene of redemption for Beckham and England at the 2002 World Cup in Japan.”
Now, in 2026, with Messi leading the defending world champions and Tuchel’s England chasing history, another unforgettable chapter in this remarkable rivalry is ready to be written.
