England vs Argentina has always been more war than football. From Margaret Thatcher to Maradona to Beckham’s red card, the Transatlantic Derby has always evoked strong emotions, as yesterday’s Offside noted. This time around, however, it has divided all the warring tribes of Football Twitter.Ronaldo fans are convinced FIFA is rigging the tournament for Messi. Global progressives believe England’s team better represents multiculturalism than Milei’s Argentina.But it is time to strip away the tired political clichés and return to the football because this is a match for the ages. Messi faces England for the first time, with England perhaps slight favourites and arguably possessing the stronger squad. But can England stop Argentina? Or will Messi meet Yamal, a young man he once bathed as an infant during a Barcelona charity photoshoot, in the final?
England vs Argentina (World Cup Semi-Final 2)
Thursday, July 16, 12. 30am ISTHow they got hereEnglish teams of old always contrived to grab defeat from the jaws of victory. This English team have done the opposite so far. Sometimes they play attacking football. At other times they resist change like Sir Humphrey Appleby when faced with a brave and original idea.They topped their group despite being frustrated by Ghana before three backs-to-the-wall performances. A sloppy England were losing to DR Congo before Harry Kane scored two massive goals, including one that could have been inspired by a Ralph Waldo Emerson poem. Then, against Mexico, with a man down, England dug deep to silence the Azteca. And in the Battle of the Apex Predators between Haaland and Kane, Bellingham stole the show with two goals. England have rarely controlled an entire knockout match, but have repeatedly refused to be beaten at the end of one.Argentina
Argentina’s group games vis-à-vis their knockout performances are a study in contrasts. They looked in complete control during the group stage before becoming progressively vulnerable with each knockout game. The tiny nation of Cabo Verde gave Messi and Co a mighty scare. Egypt led 2-0 before Argentina produced a miracle comeback. Switzerland did the same before the blue-and-white dug deep and, with Messi tapped out, Álvarez and Lautaro stepped up.Warrior WatchWhile one would be tempted to paint this as a battle between Kane and Messi, this is actually Messi vs Bellingham. The latter is having the best tournament by an Englishman since Paul Gascoigne in 1990. No matter what happens, Messi is a GOAT, but with his performances at this World Cup so far, Bellingham is indicating that he will be part of that conversation very soon.
Messi walks, observes and waits for his moment. Bellingham is thunder and lightning, attacking every part of the game: carrying the ball, winning duels, arriving in the box and scoring.Messi has eight goals and remains likely to win the Golden Boot with Mbappé out. Bellingham has six and has scored consecutive knockout braces, becoming the first player to do so since Diego Maradona.Likely starting XIsEngland: 4-2-3-1Pickford; James/Spence, Konsa, Guéhi, O’Reilly; Rice, Anderson; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon; KaneThe major question is whether Tuchel will go with Reece James’ experience or Djed Spence’s energy. Rice should also have recovered fully to ensure that he is at the top of his game when dealing with Messi. Saka will look to provide the one-on-one threat. Bellingham will also look to make late runs if Kane drops into his mid-match quarterback role. Finally, Tuchel’s substitutes, such as Rashford or Dan Burn, may be needed if England want to exert greater control.Argentina: 4-3-1-2Emiliano Martínez; Molina, Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Tagliafico; De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Mac Allister/Paredes; Messi; Álvarez, Lautaro MartínezScaloni has to decide whether to start both Álvarez and Lautaro after their goals won the match against Switzerland. A back five is also an option, but that would leave Lionel Messi more isolated. De Paul will again perform much of Messi’s running and defending, while all eyes will also be on Romero after his exhausting Switzerland match.
England’s Dan Burn (15) celebrates at the end of the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Norway and England in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
BattleplanFor England, it is the same strategy as in the first Star Wars prequel: block the routes to Messi rather than assigning a player to mark him. Rice and Anderson must prevent Enzo Fernández and Mac Allister from playing through the centre. England need to stop Messi’s combinations with De Paul and Molina and attack before Argentina can establish their defensive shape.If Kane drops, Bellingham and the two wingers need to exploit the space behind the Argentine defence. Most importantly, England must use set pieces, where they have a clear height advantage.They must also pay heed to Bellingham’s mum: watch your language, watch your tackles, watch your face and watch your emotions.Argentina’s game plan will be to crowd Bellingham when he receives between the lines and avoid following Kane all over the pitch. They will hope De Paul can disrupt England’s rhythm and protect Messi at the same time. The longer the match goes on, the more anxious the English will become, and that is when Argentina will hope to strike.Walk Down Memory Lane1962: England 3-1 ArgentinaTheir first World Cup meeting saw England win comfortably.1966: England 1-0 ArgentinaThe match both sealed the rivalry and helped lead to the introduction of yellow and red cards after Antonio Rattín refused to leave the pitch, sat on the Queen’s red carpet and damaged a corner flag. Manager Alf Ramsey called Argentina “animals”, while England won through a Geoff Hurst goal and went on to lift their only World Cup.1986: Argentina 2-1 EnglandPlayed four years after the Falklands War, this remains one of the most famous football matches of all time, with Maradona scoring football’s most infamous and most famous goals.First came the Hand of God. Then came the Goal of the Century, which left Brexit-like intergenerational trauma on the English psyche.1998: Argentina 2-2 England (Argentina won on penalties) Michael Owen scored one of the great English World Cup goals before Zanetti equalised with a training-ground free-kick. David Beckham was sent off for a petulant kick at Diego Simeone, and England lost on penalties.2002: England 1-0 ArgentinaNow captain, David Beckham gained personal vindication four years later when England beat Argentina through his penalty.Stat AttackEngland and Argentina have faced each other five times at the World Cup. England won in 1962, 1966 and 2002, Argentina won in 1986, while the 1998 match finished level before Argentina advanced on penalties.Lionel Messi has scored eight goals at this World Cup, while Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have six each. Kane and Bellingham are the first pair from the same country to each score six or more goals at a single World Cup.Between them, Kane and Bellingham have scored 12 of England’s 13 goals, or 92.3 per cent of their total. No team that has scored at least ten times at a World Cup has ever depended so heavily on two players.Argentina have scored 17 goals, the most at this World Cup and one short of their national record of 18 from 1930. They have scored exactly three goals in each of their last four matches.Argentina have played five previous World Cup semi-finals and progressed every time, the best perfect record in the tournament’s history.Messi has never faced England at senior level. Opta’s supercomputer gives England a 52.3 per cent chance of reaching the final and Argentina a 47.7 per cent chance, making England the narrowest of favourites.Non-footballing Trivia: A tale of two migrationsThe Beautiful Game came to Argentia via British teachers, railroad workers and expat communites, but Argentina’s footballing idenity was the antithesis of England’s. The English identiy was that of discipline, vigour and phyisque. Argenina created the pibe: the undersized, street-smart and technically gifted street urchin that survives through cunning and improvisation. A famous 1928 description of the ideal Argentine footballer sounded remarkably like Diego Maradona, even though it was written 32 years before he was born.
This mythology emerged as Argentina was being transformed by mass European immigration. In 1910, around half the population of Buenos Aires was foreign-born, with migrants arriving largely from Italy and Spain (and later from Nazi Germany). Football helped these communities imagine a shared Argentine identity. In fact, Argentine migration was such that attracting Europeans is instilled in the constitution.England’s migration identity on the other hand is the vestige of its empire across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. After the Second World War, people connected to that empire moved towards its centre through citizenship links, labour shortages and family networks. England’s multiculturalism is therefore partly the demographic afterlife of empire.This modern narrative now sees England as the home of multiculturaism – even if it’s the vestige of a brutal empire on par with the Third Reich – while Argentina is the story of Milei, whitness, Zionism and Nazi fugitives.The modern English football team has helped broaden the definition of who counts as English. Bellingham, of mixed black and white heritage, is perhaps its clearest symbol.As the last Offside column noted: “ If one were to look past the veneer of British romanticism, one would find that the British Empire has its own vast charge sheet: massacres of unarmed civilians, the transportation and exploitation of enslaved people, engineered racial hierarchies, famines worsened by colonial policy and concentration camps during the South African War. The Nazis were defeated, and their crimes became the central moral horror of the 20th century. The British Empire dissolved gradually, allowing Britain greater control over the story of its retreat and consigning many of its crimes to darkness, except in the memories of those forced to bear witness to them. It was a public relations exercise par excellence whose logical culmination is the world cheering on England against Argentina. England vs Argentina was always more war than football. This time, the world has taken sides.”Except it’s important to remember the reward is a final meeting with Spain. And not vindication of one’s personal politics.Read: Why England vs Argentina is more ‘war’ than football? Dinner table conversation
Can a German do for English football what a German family did for the monarchy?
