England and the last champion Argentina will face each other tomorrow in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final match.
The match to be played at Atlanta Stadium will start at 22.00 GMT. Ismail Elfath from the US Soccer Federation will referee the match. Elfath's assistants will be Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins.
England, which finished the World Cup as the leader of Group L, which included Croatia, Ghana and Panama, with 7 points, defeated Democratic Congo 2-1 in the last 32 rounds, Mexico 3-2 in the last 16 rounds, and faced Norway in the quarter-final match. England, who finished the regular time with a 1-1 draw in the match where they fell behind, won 2-1 with Bellingham's goal in the extra time and got their ticket to the semi-finals.
Argentina, which finished at the top of Group J, which included Algeria, Austria and Jordan, with 9 points, beat Cape Verde Islands 3-2 in extra time in the last 32 rounds, and defeated Egypt 3-2 in the last 16 rounds, after falling behind 2-0. The South American representative, who faced Switzerland in the quarter-finals, won the match, which ended 1-1 in normal time, 3-1 with the goals scored in extra time and advanced to the semi-finals.
Captain Harry Kane and midfielder Jude Bellingham have six goals each for England, who scored 13 times in 6 matches in the World Cup.
While Bellingham scored 2 goals in the match against Mexico, which was won 3-2 in the last 16 rounds, he also scored 2 goals for his team in the match against Norway, which they won 2-1 in the quarter-finals, and made an important contribution to getting a ticket to the semi-finals.
In England, Jarell Qansah, who received a red card in the match against Mexico and was suspended for 2 matches, is suspended. Although the English Football Federation objected to the player's penalty, the penalty was not reduced. Qansah will not be able to play against Argentina.
Messi failed to score for the first time in a match against Switzerland
Argentina's star player Messi scored 8 times in 5 matches in the tournament and was at the top of the top scorer race together with French football player Mbappe.
Messi, who could not score in the match against Switzerland, failed to score a goal for the first time in his last 10 World Cup matches. The 38-year-old football player, whose total number of goals in the World Cup is 21, is the top scorer in the history of the organization.
England and Argentina have competed 5 times in World Cup history. The first match between the two teams was played at the 1962 World Cup in Chile. They won the match between two teams in the same group, 3-1. After the group matches, England advanced to the quarter-finals, while Argentina was eliminated from the organization.
The two countries met in the quarter-finals of the World Cup held in England in 1966. England left this match with a 1-0 victory.
The fight between England and Argentina, which has been controversial for 40 years, was played in Mexico in 1986. After the group matches, Argentina eliminated Uruguay, while England beat Paraguay and advanced to the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, Diego Maradona first scored a goal with his hand, then dribbled past 6 players to put his team ahead 2-0. Argentina won the match 2-1 and finished the tournament as champions.
After the controversial match played in 1986, the two teams became rivals for the first time in the World Cup held in France in 1998. After the group matches, Argentina and England matched in the last 16 rounds and finished the regular time and extra time with a 2-2 draw. In the penalty shootout, Argentina won the match by outscoring its opponent 4-3.
The last match between Argentina and England in the World Cup was played in 2002. England won the match between two teams in the same group in the organization organized by South Korea and Japan, 1-0 with the goal scored by Beckham. With this result, England left the group, while Argentina said goodbye to the organization.
"Falkland Islands" fight between two countries
The England-Argentina matches also fuel the long-standing "Falkland Islands" fight between the two countries.
The fact that England stated that the islands were under its sovereignty, while Argentina said that the islands were occupied by the British on January 3, 1883, brings the matches between the two countries to a political point.
Finally, after the match in which Argentina defeated Switzerland 3-1 and advanced to the quarter-finals, the football players in the Argentine locker room celebrated the victory by chanting "Muchachos", which was covered in the British media. While the chant includes words honoring Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, the Falkland Islands are also mentioned.