A spot in the World Cup final is on the line when Argentina and England meet on Wednesday at Atlanta Stadium. The mindset and the motivation between the two nations and their fans are different as Argentina desperately wants to defend its title while England is looking to join the worlds elite and win its first title since the 1966 World Cup.
The winner of the second World Cup semifinal will face Spain, which beat France, 2-0, on Tuesday in the first semifinal match.Â
Here is everything you need to know for Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal.
England vs. Argentina: How To Watch
All eyes are on Lionel Messi in every game he plays. He has won a World Cup, Copa Américas, Champions League titles and every domestic league in which he has participated. But there is one thing Messi has never done: played against the English national team.
These teams have a storied rivalry at the World Cup. In the quarterfinal of the 1966 World Cup, England defeated Argentina 1-0 in a game that saw Argentinas captain, Antonio RattÃn, have to be escorted off the field by police after a disputed red card. Coincidentally, Rattin died at 89 years old last week on the same day as Argentinas quarterfinal win over Switzerland.
Then in 1986 in Mexico City, we saw Diego Maradonnas infamous “Hand of God” incident when he punched in a long ball past English goalkeeper Peter Shilton and the handball was missed by Tunisian referee Ali Ben Nasser. Argentina ended up winning, 2-1, and it is still widely one of the most talked about moments in World Cup history.
Then in the round of 16 at the 1998 World Cup, England again disputed the officiating, as David Beckham was sent off and Alan Shearer had a goal disallowed. Argentina prevailed on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
After having been eliminated by Argentina in two of the last three World Cups, England got revenge in a group stage matchup in 2002 with a 1-0 win. The goal was scored by Beckham via a penalty after Michael Owen was fouled by Mauricio Pochettino. That result led to Argentinas shocking failure to advance out of group play.
On Wednesday, the teams will write another chapter in their intense World Cup rivalry, and both teams should feel confident about arriving at this stage.
Lionel Messi is the 2026 World Cups leading goalscorer with eight goals. He now has 21 career World Cup goals, making him the tournament’s top scorer. But in this tournament, he has assists in each of the last two games to also give him a record 10 career World Cup assists.
What is perhaps the best news for Argentina is that Lionel Scalonis team has been developing a more balanced attack as the tournament has progressed. Messi scored the teams first five goals of this World Cup. Since then, he scored three of the teams next 12 goals. That balanced attack makes La Albiceleste far more difficult to st
