England and Argentina: A Historic Clash for the Final Spot

A new chapter in one of the most famous World Cup rivalries will be written in Atlanta, as England and Argentina meet for the sixth time at the global tournament, this time with a spot in the final of the North American World Cup on the line.

England have not been particularly impressive in this edition of the World Cup, but their fighting spirit has been evident in the knockout stages, most recently with a 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway in the quarter-finals.

While their German manager Thomas Tuchel and star Jude Bellingham offered contrasting assessments of that recent win, the English side have now reached a major tournament semi-final for the fourth time since 2018, matching the total they had achieved in their entire history prior to that.

Tuchel aims to become the first foreign manager in 48 years to reach a World Cup final. England have not advanced beyond the semi-finals since winning their only title on home soil in 1966, having been eliminated in the semi-finals in 1990 in Italy and 2018 in Russia.

Argentina, the three-time champions with their most recent title in the last edition in Qatar in 2022, have won all six of their matches in this tournament and their last 12 knockout games. However, they had to exert considerable effort to navigate the knockout stages.

Manager Lionel Scaloni’s men continued to contest refereeing decisions in their second consecutive match, requiring extra time to eliminate Switzerland, who finished the game with ten men (1-3) in the quarter-finals. This makes them the tournament’s most potent attack ahead of the semi-finals with 17 goals, just one short of Argentina’s single-tournament record, set in the inaugural 1930 edition in Uruguay when they reached the final.

Conversely, England have lost only three times in 14 meetings against Argentina (six wins, five draws), but both of their most recent defeats came at the World Cup, specifically in 1986 in Mexico, when Diego Maradona scored two “historic” goals, and in 1998 in France via a penalty shootout. Since then, the Three Lions have not lost in their last three encounters (two wins, one draw), securing victory in their last two matches.

However, England have never managed to progress past the knockout stages against a team ranked in the world’s top four at a major tournament. Meanwhile, Argentina have scored at least three goals in each of their last four World Cup matches, marking the second-longest such streak in tournament history. Notably, more than 2.5 goals were scored in six of Argentina’s last seven matches.

England are relying on their stars, Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham and captain Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane. Thanks to them, England became the first team in World Cup history to feature two players each scoring six goals in a single tournament. Bellingham scored a brace in the last two rounds against Mexico and Norway, while captain Kane prepares to play his 121st international match, thereby breaking the record for the most appearances by an outfield player for England.

On the other hand, Lionel Messi enters the semi-finals as the tournament’s all-time top scorer (21 goals, one ahead of French striker Kylian Mbappé) and top assist provider (10). Remarkably, all of his ten assists went to different players.

England will continue without the services of their defender, Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarrod Bowen, who is serving a two-match suspension after being sent off against Mexico in the round of 16, while there are doubts over Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, who was substituted at half-time in the quarter-final against Norway. Rice had been dealing with a hamstring injury beforehand, although it did not initially prevent him from starting against the Vikings.

For their part, the chances of Boca Juniors midfielder Leandro Paredes and Tottenham defender Cristian Romero missing the clash with England appear slim, despite both being sidelined by injury against Switzerland, and they are expected to be fit and ready.