Argentina players held up a banner declaring ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ after beating England to reach the World Cup final. The message refers to the disputed Falkland Islands, reviving the sovereignty dispute and raising questions over FIFA’s ban on political displays.
Published On 16 Jul 202616 Jul 2026
Share
England have showed character at this World Cup, coming from behind to defeat both DR Congo at the last-32 stage and Norway in the quarter-finals.
“The difference is hanging on against Norway or Mexico [in the last 16], they have not got the quality this Argentina team have got in terms of the ability on the ball and the ability they have to punish you,” former England captain Alan Shearer told BBC Sport.
“Tuchel played his cards very, very early and it has backfired.”
England looked to have taken full control of the semi-final against their old foes when Gordon put them ahead 10 minutes into the second half.
England’s fans celebrated wildly – but then the Three Lions opted to sit back and defend.
“The fact that England got themselves in front and then basically handed Argentina the initiative… that was a coaching catastrophe from Thomas Tuchel,” Chris Sutton, a Premier League winner with Blackburn in 1994-95, told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“You can’t expect to defend for 30 minutes against the quality Argentina had.
“It’s all on the coach where I am concerned. He made the changes. He was negative, so the question which I’m going to ask is ‘how can you trust Thomas Tuchel to take this team forward?'”
England have come undone against Argentina in the past.
Who can forget Diego Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal at the 1986 World Cup or the 1998 World Cup defeat that burns so deep.
England, however, have no-one but themselves to blame for Wednesday’s loss.
“Norway and Mexico panicked against England,” former England goalkeeper Joe Hart told BBC Sport.
“I didn’t see one bit of panic from that Argentina side. I saw belief, I saw the realising they could free up the great man Lionel Messi in the pocket, and they were running all over England.
“Gareth Southgate took a lot of criticism for the big moments with England, when they had the lead in big games and shut up shop. I don’t see that anything has changed in that big moment out there.”
So what were the changes that frustrated England fans so much?
Leading 1-0, many expected Tuchel to go for another goal – but instead the German made three defensive changes.
He brought Konsa on for Gordon in the 72nd minute – switching to a back five – before bringing on further defensive reinforcements 10 minutes later in Burn and O’Reilly.
Tuchel sent on forwards Rashford and Toney in added time, but it proved too little too late.
“I felt the changes we made at 1-0, that if Argentina scored we wouldn’t make extra time,” added Rooney.
Former England defender Micah Richards told BBC Sport: “When England scored that first goal they should have gone for the second.
“Yes, you respect their quality, but dropping deep allowed Argentina to get into their flow.”
Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, said Tuchel went too deep too soon.
“I think he has got that wrong,” added Robinson, who won 41 caps for England between 2003 and 2007.
“He has got a lot of decisions right, but I think trying to defend a lead against this team was a wrong choice.”
Once Gordon put England ahead in this latest stormy episode of an old and bitter rivalry, Tuchel decided on a rearguard action.
That had worked for England in their knockout wins over Mexico and Norway – but it would not against a Messi-inspired Argentina.
Tuchel replaced goalscorer Gordon with defender Ezri Konsa with 18 minutes left and switched to a back five. He then brought Nico O’Reilly and Dan Burn on for Declan Rice and Reece James.
It was clear almost instantly that Tuchel had called it badly. It did nothing but invite Argentine pressure and those late goals. This one was almost all on Tuchel.
If there was one statistic that brutally condemned his approach, it was that England only had 12% possession between taking the lead and Martinez’s winning goal nearly 40 minutes later.
Such was England’s sudden attacking need in the closing moments that Tuchel threw on Ivan Toney after 96 minutes – his first appearance of the tournament.
Toney’s “blink and you’ll miss it” cap also brought some of Tuchel’s selections under scrutiny. Was Toney simply picked for a penalty shootout that never came?
And the debate around Tuchel’s defensive picks, especially at right-back, will continue to rage.
Tuchel gambled on the injury-prone Reece James staying fit – but when the Chelsea defender was sidelined with a hamstring issue, right-back suddenly became a problem position.
The position turned into musical chairs between Jarell Quansah – injured against Panama then sent off against Mexico – Djed Spence and Ezri Konsa before James was back for the semi-final.
All this while Trent Alexander-Arnold watched from afar, his natural gifts ignored by Tuchel on the basis of defensive frailty.
And as the ashes are raked over, Tuchel’s decision to ignore the creativity of Cole Palmer and Phil Foden – easy to say with hindsight given both had poor seasons with Chelsea and Manchester City – and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White will be revisited.
Jordan Henderson, whose tournament ended in bizarre circumstances when he broke an arm amid the celebrations after the win against Mexico, was taken for his influence around the squad but was never going to be a serious on-field performer.
If Tuchel valued his professionalism and personality so much in this area, why not take Henderson on his backroom staff and open up a place for a younger, more creative player?
This was a desperate day for England – and Tuchel and his tactical approach.
A day when it could easily have been said, as the song goes: “Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.”
ATLANTA — The jury is still out on whether Lionel Messi is the greatest soccer player ever. But there should be no doubt he’s the greatest to ever play in a World Cup.
And you don’t need the records, the wins or the goals to prove that — although he certainly has enough of those. You just need to see Messi at his most magical, as he was Wednesday, setting up a pair of game-changing goals in a seven-minute span to lift Argentina to a 2-1 win over England and into Sunday’s World Cup final with Spain.
“It’s really hard to speak right now, but I’m going to try not to cry,” Lautaro Martínez, who scored the winning goal two minutes into stoppage time, said in Spanish. “I’m already overwhelmed inside. It’s incredible. Everything we’ve achieved is just incredible.”
Like their 13-game World Cup unbeaten streak, dating to the opening game of the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Or back-to-back trips to the final, which gives them a chance to become the first repeat champion in the men’s tournament since Brazil in 1962.
Argentina’s Lautaro Martinez scores his team’s second goal in front of England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (1) and fellow England players Ezri Konsa (2) and John Stones (5) during a World Cup semifinal in Atlanta on Wednesday.
(Erik S. Lesser / Associated Press)
But it hasn’t been easy. Eleven of Argentina’s 19 goals — including both scores in Wednesday’s semifinal — have come after the 75th minute. They trailed in the 80th minute or later in two of their last three knockout games, only to rally both times.
And Messi has either scored or assisted on three of the four goals that rescued Argentina.
“This group, in the face of adversity, keeps going, keeps going, and never gets tired,” Martínez said. “And we have the best in the world as our example.”
On Wednesday that meant heartache for England, which was as close to a World Cup final as it has been in six decades, leading 1-0 on Anthony Gordon’s second-half goal with just five minutes left in normal time.
But after taking the lead, England turned strangely conservative, dropping all 11 players behind the ball at times, daring Argentina to score. Eventually it did, with Enzo Fernández curling a right-footed shot from about 20 yards past England keeper Jordan Pickford and in at the left post to tie the game.
It was a pass from Messi that found Fernández in space at the top of the box, earning the Argentine captain his record 11th World Cup assist.
“The opponent doubted themselves,” Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni said. “We smelt blood and went for it. We all felt it. “
The tie didn’t last for long though, with Messi threading a perfect cross from the right wing to Martínez, who found space between English defenders John Stones and Ezri Konsa at the far post. Messi’s pass just cleared the leaping Stones, then dipped to Martínez, who nodded it home.
England’s Harry Kane and England’s Jude Bellingham are dejected after losing to Argentina during a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta.
(Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)
When the ball hit the net, the sellout crowd at Atlanta’s massive Mercedes-Benz Stadium erupted.
“Once again, despite falling behind, we managed to turn the game around in stoppage time. That speaks volumes about this group, about this team that never settles, always wants more, always strives for more,” Martínez said.
It also gives Messi a chance to strive for more in Sunday’s final. He has already played in more World Cup games, scored more World Cup goals and had more World Cup assists than any man in history. With a win over Spain, he can join another elite group of men: those who have won back-to-back World Cup titles.
History will eventually decide if it was Messi’s brillance or the tactical surrender of England coach Thomas Tuchel that truly turned the game around. Tuchel, however, said he had no regrets.
“We played the matches how they were,” he said. “We overcame every obstacle. We were very, very close today. It’s not a moment now to analyze the full tournament because we lost a crucial match.”
His captain, Harry Kane, who lost in the semifinal of a World Cup for the second time in three tournament, was also not interested in second-guessing.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi sits on the shoulders of a teammate and celebrates after beating England in a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta.
(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)
“We had a lot of good moments in this tournament, a lot of good games,” he said. “We talked about knocking on the door. We’re close, we just have to find that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament.”
They may be closer than they think: England is the only team this century to score the first goal in a World Cup semifinal but not reach the final, according to the OptaJoe statistical service.
Argentina’s team, meanwhile, is missing nothing — except maybe a second title,
“The people of Argentina should celebrate being in a final,” Scaloni said. “This group of players is difficult to describe in words. They are so special. I’m getting emotional. They fight for everything.
“We’re going to try to win the final. But what else does this team need to do? There isn’t much else to say. I’m eternally grateful to this group of players.”
Sports editor Iliana Limón Romero contributed to this report.
Jubilant fans leapt with joy in Buenos Aires after Argentina defeated England 2-1 in Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal match. The defending champions will take on Spain in Sunday’s final.
Published On 16 Jul 202616 Jul 2026
Share
Holders Argentina will face Spain in the final after snatching victory from England in a highly charged encounter.
Published On 15 Jul 202615 Jul 2026
Lautaro Martinez scored a 92nd-minute winner as Lionel Messi inspired World Cup holders Argentina to a stunning comeback to beat England 2-1 and set up a final with European football champions Spain.
England had been on course to reach their first FIFA World Cup final since 1966 after Anthony Gordon fired them into the lead 10 minutes into the second half of the semifinal in front of 68,239 fans in Atlanta on Wednesday.
list of 4 itemsend of list
The great rivalry between these nations has produced several memorable contests on the World Cup stage through the years, and this will be remembered as the stuff of legends in Argentina as the South Americans denied England with two late sucker punches.
Messi set up Enzo Fernandez to fire in an 85th-minute equaliser, and then, with extra time looming, crossed for substitute Lautaro Martinez to head in the winner in the second minute of stoppage time.
It was maybe not quite up there with Diego Maradona’s legendary display in putting England to the sword in 1986, but the goals this time brought Argentina back from the dead and kept alive their hopes of winning back-to-back World Cups.
No team has retained the trophy since Brazil in 1962, and now, Messi will become just the second player after Brazilian great Cafu to appear in three World Cup finals. Italy are the only other side to defend a World Cup crown.
The 2026 final will take place at New York New Jersey Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, as the first 48-team World Cup boils down to a confrontation between the reigning champions of Europe and South America.
Messi had waited until the age of 39 to get the chance to play against England, and he will now face Spain for the first time in a competitive game.
His career appeared to be complete when he dragged Argentina to glory in 2022 in Qatar, but he is clearly not done yet.
England, though, will have huge regrets as they head to Miami to play France in Saturday’s third-place playoff, a game neither team will want to contest.
The prospect of a first World Cup final appearance since their sole triumph 60 years ago was a momentous one, and they were so close, but will live to regret sitting back after Gordon’s opener.
The key men for Thomas Tuchel’s side during this campaign have been Jude Bellingham and captain Harry Kane, yet they failed to deliver on this occasion, and England’s players slumped to the turf at full-time.
Given the deep-rooted rivalry between these nations, this was always likely to be a game with an edge, and there was a palpable sense of tension at Atlanta Stadium.
Argentina’s players were clearly fired up, partly by a determination to hold onto their World Cup crown but also by a sense of what this fixture means.
That translated into a niggly contest, pockmarked by fouls in the first half, including Elliot Anderson being booked for scything down Messi.
There were no real chances to speak of in the first half, but England struck in the 55th minute.
Kane was involved in the buildup as the ball eventually came to Morgan Rogers on the right, and he whipped in a low cross towards the back post where Gordon stole in front of Nahuel Molina to score.
But this was the stadium where Argentina produced a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to beat Egypt in the last 16, and they were not done.
They threw everything at their opponents, as Jordan Pickford made a great save from a Nico Gonzalez header, and Alexis Mac Allister was then denied by the post in the 76th minute.
Fernandez was denied from range by Pickford, but moments later, he equalised, controlling a Messi pass on the edge of the area and letting fly past the goalkeeper.
Argentina smelled blood, and Mac Allister again hit the post before England failed to clear, and Martinez headed in the winner from an exquisite Messi cross to spark chaotic scenes of celebration and leave England completely deflated.
Thousands of Argentina fans held a banderazo in the streets of Atlanta ahead of their World Cup semi-final against England. The fan tradition transforms public spaces into celebrations before a major match.
Published On 15 Jul 202615 Jul 2026
Share
Argentina’s Ministry of National Security is coordinating a joint operation with U.S. and British agencies to strengthen security inside and outside Atlanta Stadium, where the match between England and Argentina was to be be played Wednesday Photo by Ronald Wiotek/EPA
July 15 (UPI) — Argentina has strengthened cooperation with U.S. authorities to implement its stadium access control system for the World Cup semifinal match Wednesday against England in Atlanta.
The system allows officials to identify people banned from attending soccer matches, including members of violent fan groups and thousands of child support debtors.
The Ministry of National Security is coordinating a joint operation with U.S. and British agencies to strengthen security inside and outside Atlanta Stadium, where the match was to be played.
The operation includes meetings with the FBI and Georgia State Police, as well as an increased presence of law enforcement officers and private security personnel at stadium entrances, the ministry said.
National Security Secretary Alejandra Monteoliva said in a video posted on X that Argentina’s National Registry of Individuals Banned from Stadiums has already been made available to U.S. authorities to assist with the operation.
ARGENTINA – INGLATERRA CON REGLAS
Los violentos no nos representan; ni aquí, ni allá, ni en ningún lado.
Con la Selección se juega. Con la seguridad no. pic.twitter.com/dEgHQwBv26— Alejandra Monteoliva (@AleMonteoliva) July 14, 2026
“Soccer belongs to families and true fans, and we do not want violent people representing us anywhere in the world,” she said.
The Argentine government previously provided U.S. authorities with a database that contains the names of some 35,000 people subject to stadium bans. The information-sharing system allows U.S. authorities to identify those prohibited from entering soccer stadiums in Argentina, although the final decision on entry into the United States stadiums to matches rests exclusively with U.S. authorities.
The operation also incorporates the “Alerta Halcón” system, which works alongside the National Directorate of Migration and detects when a person subject to a stadium ban leaves Argentina. That information is transmitted in real time to Argentine officials in the United States, who share it with local authorities for case-by-case evaluation.
The mechanism is part of the Tribuna Segura program, created by the Argentine government in 2016 to prevent people considered a security risk because of previous violence at sporting events from entering stadiums.
The registry primarily includes members of barras bravas, the term used in Argentina for organized soccer supporter groups historically associated with violence inside and outside stadiums.
The system operates through a national database that is checked whenever a spectator presents an identity document to enter a stadium. If the individual is listed as subject to an active restriction, entry is automatically denied.
In May, the national government expanded the scope of Tribuna Segura by incorporating information from child support debtor registries in Buenos Aires and 13 provinces as part of an agreement to extend restrictions already in force in different jurisdictions, the Buenos Aires Herald reported.
Also, about 13,000 of the roughly 35,000 people in the database are parents who failed to meet child support obligations.
Authorities said, however, that not every late payment results in a stadium ban. To be added to the registry, a person must go through judicial proceedings for failing to comply with child support obligations and become subject to measures ordered by a judge, which may include a ban on attending sporting events.
The Argentine government said the inclusion of child support debtors is intended to encourage compliance with obligations toward children by restricting access to recreational activities.
According to the latest report by UNICEF Argentina, 56% of mothers whose children do not live with their father receive no child support, and that figure rises to 68% when those who receive irregular payments are included.
“Failure to pay child support constitutes a violation of children’s rights, with tangible effects on their living conditions,” Carolina Aulicino, social policy officer at UNICEF Argentina, said while presenting the report.
Experts cited by the Buenos Aires Herald said the measure has strong symbolic value because it seeks to encourage debtors to regularize their situation, although they argued it should be accompanied by reforms to speed up access to the courts and facilitate the effective collection of child support payments.
While every World Cup introduces viewers to new young stars, this tournament featured eight players who were older than 40 — one more than the number of over-40 players in the previous 22 World Cups combined.
Among them were Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, and Mexico’s Memo Ochoa, 40, who were playing in their sixth World Cups alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi, a relative youngster at 39. No one has played in more men’s World Cups.
But while Ronaldo and Ochoa have gone home, Messi will be playing in his third semifinal in four tournaments Wednesday when Argentina, the reigning champion, faces England at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The newfound longevity of elite soccer players has been made possible by advances in sports medicine, diet and analytics that measure everything from biomechanics and heart rate to muscular output and sleep cycles, all in real time. And injuries that once ended careers can now be repaired through outpatient procedures.
Argentina star Lionel Messi holds his jersey up and celebrates with teammates after a World Cup quarterfinal win over Switzerland on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.
(David Ramos / Getty Images)
“Over the past 10, 20 years, the sports science within the game has changed a lot,” said Liam Anderson, an exercise physiologist at the University of Birmingham in England, who has worked as an applied practitioner in top-flight professional soccer for more than a decade.
“Players are now definitely more aware of their bodies and I think the professionalism has changed quite a lot as well. But they’re also in tune with the things which are helping them recover, manage their training load and ultimately stay fitter and healthier for longer.”
Gone are the days when chain-smoking Dutch legend Johan Cruyff would light up a cigarette on the bench, French world champion Zinedine Zidane would smoke in the locker room and George Best would party and drink so hard he would disappear for days at a time.
“There’s a couple of reasons,” Dr. Michael Joyner, a specialist in the physiology of elite athletes at the Mayo Clinic, said of the growing lifespan of soccer players. “The first is that people just make a lot more money and as a result, there’s tremendous incentive to keep playing. The second is people are taking much better care of themselves.”
“You just don’t hear about people like George Best anymore,” said Joyner, speaking for himself and not the clinic where he works.
“Diet is huge,” Anderson added. “High-protein diets and fueling with carbohydrates for matches. Nutritional strategies have changed considerably in the last 10-15 years.”
And those diets are tailored by position since a midfielder, who may run more than seven miles in a match, burns more calories than a goalkeeper.
As the eldest player in Major League Soccer, Diego Chara has had to make some concessions to age.
“It’s a little detailed,” said Chara, a midfielder with the Portland Timbers. “Talking about recovery time, it maybe takes a little bit longer than before. Nutrition. Working in the gym, it’ll be longer than other players.”
But if Chara, 40, is an old man in a league where the average age is younger than 26, he would have been something of whippersnapper in this summer’s World Cup.
The Portland Timbers’ Diego Chará passes the ball under pressure from the Columbus Crew’s Wessam Abou Ali on Feb. 21in Portland, Ore.
(Amanda Loman / Associated Press)
Soccer isn’t the only sport in which 40 is the new 30.
Serena Williams returned to Wimbledon this summer at age 44 and at least half a dozen athletes 40 and older showed up at the Milan-Cortina Olympics last February hoping to medal. Four of them succeeded, including American Elana Meyers Taylor, 41, who became the oldest athlete to win an individual gold in Winter Olympics history in the women’s monobob.
It isn’t unheard of for athletes to be golden in their golden years. Ted Williams hit .316 at 41 and Gordie Howe played 80 games and had 41 points in his final NHL season at 52. Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter and pitched 173 innings at 44 while Tom Brady quarterbacked the Tampa Bay Bucs to a Super Bowl title at 43.
But if those age-defying performances were outliers, playing into your mid-40s and even early 50s may soon become, if not common, at least less unusual.
“People are just staying in better shape, taking care of themselves,” Joyner said. “Career-changing or career-ending injuries are no longer career-ending injuries. It just goes on and on, all of this stuff combined.”
American Serena Williams, 44, serves against Australian Maya Joint during a match at Wimbledon on June 30.
(Cameron Spencer / Getty Images)
State-of-the-art training centers and access to top-line sports medicine have also become more accessible, even in poor countries.
“The elite level has spread and really become global, as opposed to where there used to be pockets,” Joyner said. “The opportunities to compete are so great.”
Few team sports are as physically demanding as soccer, though, which makes both the growing number of seasoned citizens and their performances noteworthy. Messi has averaged nearly a game a week for club and country during the past 23 years, yet he entered the semifinals of this tournament tied for the scoring lead with France’s Kylian Mbappé, who is 12 years younger.
Ronaldo has played even more games yet he became the oldest player to score in a World Cup knockout game when his penalty kick helped eliminate Croatia and midfielder Luka Modric, who will be 41 in less than two months.
“They’ve probably lost a little bit off the top, but their experience and their mind make up for that,” said Scott Trappe, a professor of human bioenergetics at Ball State. “So the overall package of them as a sports person is really they’re contributing at a high level. I think we’re going to continue to see this movement.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring a World Cup group stage goal against Uzbekistan on June 23 in Houston.
(Charlotte Wilson / Getty Images)
“They like playing the sport and as long as they can and contribute and they make these teams, they’re going to do it. I don’t see the trend going away.”
And that will not only change the way we think of sports and athletes, it will completely rewrite the record book. Messi, for instance, entered the semifinals of this World Cup as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer with 21 goals. But that was just one ahead of Mbappé, who could appear in another three or four World Cups.
“No question,” Trappe said. “You look what’s going on in pro cycling. We’ve got some guys in their upper 30s competing in the Tour de France, but we also have a teenager competing. So this lifespan, what used to be a five- to eight-year period for cycling at the at the highest levels is turning out to be, you know, double or triple that.”
Both Messi and Ronaldo have benefited from how they play as well, walking rather running for long stretches of the game to conserve energy for the burst they need to lose a defender. It’s a strategy Mbappé, Norway’s Erling Haaland and other young players have adopted and if they do that over enough games, the wear and tear it saves could add years to the end of their careers.
“We are expanding. The age will start moving up a little bit further up and players’ careers will definitely be longer,” Anderson said. “The sort of normal distribution of playing age will begin to move forward and that experience within the squad will be key.’
Argentina’s Lionel Messi dribbles the ball during the World Cup quarterfinal match against Switzerland on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.
(Charlie Riedel / Ap Photo/charlie Riedel)
Consider Wednesday’s semifinalists. In its quarterfinal win, Argentina used six players older than 32 and two — Messi and defender Nicolas Otamendi — who are over 38. The spine of England’s team runs from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford through defender John Stones to striker Harry Kane, who are all 32.
“We’re coming up with new ways on how to improve and maximizing potential,” Anderson said. “God gave us what we are and it’s maximizing that, not necessarily changing that.”
That knowledge won’t stay in the stadiums and locker rooms for long, expanding to others who choose to adopt the same wellness discipline as professional athletes.
“It cycles down,” Trappe said. “We’re studying that in the lab at a pretty high level. This sort of healthy lifestyle in terms of functionality and extending into our later years and having a higher quality life, there’s data starting to emerge there.
“These types of things are going to trickle into that for sure.”
England and Argentina met in another quarter-final in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium at the 1986 World Cup, with the Falklands War four years earlier providing the backdrop.
It was the day of Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand Of God” – as well as his brilliant second goal – as Argentina won 2-1, and then went on to lift the World Cup.
France ’98 delivered a classic last-16 game best remembered for a wound-up David Beckham being sent off for kicking out at Diego Simeone, and the solo goal that brought an 18-year-old Michael Owen to global superstar status.
Argentina prevailed on penalties to provide yet more World Cup heartache for the Three Lions.
There was still lingering ill-feeling between the two teams when they met again four years later in a World Cup group game under Sapporo’s dome in Japan.
This time it was redemption for Beckham, who scored the winner with a first-half penalty, but Argentina complained long and loud – insisting Owen had dived amid a challenge from future Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Tuchel said: “It is a very big rivalry between two big footballing nations.
“I could say the history is irrelevant but I’m not sure. The players are aware of it. When a fixture provides so many iconic moments, you can’t say it is just another football match.”
Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni – who represented his nation at the 2006 World Cup – added: “We all have stories from that past time and history and it all makes it very emotional.”
It is this backdrop, this history of acrimony, that elevates this encounter above those other semi-finals.
England have had many memorable games in the past six decades – but winning this match would outstrip them all and offer the chance for a historic triumph in Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain.
MEXICO CITY — Argentina may be the last Latin American team standing in the World Cup, but don’t expect many fans in Mexico to be cheering for La Albiceleste — the lads sporting the classic white and blue stripes.
“There’s no way I want the Argentines to win,” said Roberto García, 55, who owns a clothing shop in the Mexican capital. “How can one sympathize with a team that has such a supremacist, racist discourse?”
The Argentine squad — reigning world champions led by seemingly ageless superstar Lionel Messi — faces off Wednesday in a semifinal match against England. Argentina is seeking its fourth World Cup, which would put it in a second-place tie for global titles with Germany and Italy, trailing only Brazil and its five cups.
But Argentina’s performance in the 2026 World Cup has again put the spotlight on a contentious fact of life in world soccer: The current of disdain that the Argentine side has long inspired among a certain segment of Latin American fans, especially those in Mexico.
Reynaldo Flores Jr., 10, center, reacts during the final minutes of a round of 16 knockout match between Mexico and England during a World Cup watch party at Chapter One in Santa Ana on July 5.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
A combination of factors are to blame: Mexico’s repeated World Cup losses to Argentina, a series of questionable refereeing decisions seeming to favor Argentina, Messi’s massive media presence and ongoing discourse on social media — where legitimate analysis coexists with passionate opinions and misinformation.
Deeper cultural resentments are also a factor. Many in the region have long complained that Argentines, many of whom have predominantly European ancestry, think they’re better than the rest of Latin America.
Critics say that Eurocentric superiority complex was on display this summer when Argentine journalist Eduardo Feinmann declared on air, after Mexico was eliminated in a close match with England: “I detest Mexicans, I detest them with my soul. … The envy they feel for us, not only in football but in everything.”
Feinmann’s comments sparked such widespread ire that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum weighed in, calling his remarks “appalling.”
Later, Feinmann said his words were not directed at the Mexican people — while musing that Sheinbaum had bigger things to worry about, like combating narco-trafficking, violence and corruption.
The World Cup by its nature stokes nationalism, and the deployment of stereotypes and even outright racism has long been a feature of the tournament. Last week, for example, a former Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, sparked outrage when he said that the French national soccer team, which includes members with African immigrant backgrounds, “does not have any French players.”
At two Argentina matches during this year’s tournament, fans from the country were recorded hurling racist slurs at an African American streamer. Online critics were quick to dredge up comments by a former Argentinian leader as proof of the country’s bias. “The Mexicans came from the Indians, the Brazilians came from the jungle, but we Argentines came from the ships … from Europe,” former Argentine President Alberto Fernández said in 2021.
A boy wearing an Argentina jersey waves American flags as fireworks explode during the annual Independence Day Celebration in the predominantly Latino community of Lynwood on July 3.
(Mario Tama / Getty Images)
Many Argentines say they, too, are appalled by such comments. “We reject it completely,” said actress Karenina Ivankovic, 37. “But you’ll find rude people everywhere.”
She moved from her native Argentina to Mexico City 13 years ago, and said she is shocked by the wave of “xenophobia” directed at her countrymen during this year’s tournament.
People have sent her nasty messages online, and strangers have stopped her on the street to tell her they hope Argentina loses. And she said several Argentine friends were physically attacked at a festival in Mexico City organized by FIFA, soccer’s world governing body.
People love Argentine music, Ivankovic said. They love Argentine beef.
“But during the World Cup,” she said, “they hate us.”
She thinks that may in part be because of how serious Argentines take their fútbol.
“Argentina lives in crisis,” she said. “Economic crisis, political crisis. Soccer is something that unites us. We say there’s no better hug than after Argentina has scored a goal.”
But at the end of the day, she said, people need to relax and remember that what’s at stake is just a tournament trophy.
“It’s become very political and personal,” she said. “But it’s just a game.”
Even some fans in Mexico express remorse about the wave of anti-Argentine sentiment — much of which has been playing out, sometimes crudely, online.
“It’s too bad that all this hate directed at the Argentines doesn’t allow us to appreciate that they have the best player in the world, Messi,” said Carlos Romero Díaz, 37, a car salesman here who was rooting for the South Americans. “Yes, Argentina generates a lot of anger, but at the end of the day, they score goals and win games.”
While Mexico has never won a World Cup, Mexico City’s iconic Estadio Azteca has been the site of some of Argentina’s greatest soccer triumphs, notably its championship in the stirring 1986 World Cup.
Argentina player Diego Maradona outjumps England goalkeeper Peter Shilton to score with his “Hand of God” goal as England defenders Kenny Sansom (top), Gary Stevens (center) and Terry Fenwick look on during the 1986 FIFA World Cup at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
(Getty Images)
A quarterfinal match between Argentina and England featured two of soccer legend Diego Maradona’s greatest hits: the so-called “Goal of the Century,” by all accounts a masterpiece strike; and Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal, an illegal hand-goal that was allowed to stand because no referee saw the infraction.
But Mexico’s losses to Argentina have left a strong mark too. No other team has eliminated Mexico as many times in a World Cup.
After Argentina defeated Mexico 2-0 during group play in the 2022 World Cup, a video from inside the Argentine locker room began circulating, showing Messi — who scored one of the goals — taking off a soccer boot while a Mexican jersey lay on the floor.
Mexican boxer Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez interpreted the scene as the Argentine captain deliberately kicking the jersey and accused him of disrespecting Mexico — an allegation that Messi denied.
Years later, Messi acknowledged that the incident had altered the perception some Mexican fans had of him.
“I’ve always felt very loved by the people of Mexico. I’ve never disrespected anyone,” he said during an interview with “Simplemente Fútbol.”
Although Mexico is at the center of much of the debate, critical sentiment toward Argentina has taken hold among fans from other Latin American countries.
Social media has been flooded with posts from users in Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador and Peru questioning refereeing decisions or expressing disapproval of Argentina, while messages mocking rival teams also proliferated from Argentine accounts.
As Argentina continues its quest for another World Cup title, the debate over whether it has simply been the best team in the tournament or also the one most favored by circumstances will continue to dominate soccer conversation in Latin America.
Staff writers Linthicum and El Reda reported from Mexico City and McDonnell from Boston. Special correspondent Sánchez Vidal reported from Mexico City and special correspondent Andrés D’Alessandro from Buenos Aires.
Jude Bellingham has been the best player at the World Cup so far, says former England striker Wayne Rooney.
Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham has scored six goals in six games for England, leaving him only two behind France’s Kylian Mbappe and Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot standings.
Erling Haaland, whose Norway side were eliminated by England in the quarter-finals, is on seven while Three Lions captain Harry Kane is level with Bellingham.
England play Messi’s Argentina on Wednesday in the second semi-final (20:00 BST). The match is live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app, and BBC Radio 5 Live.
“In terms of best in the world I think you’re looking at someone like Mbappe or Haaland,” Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show.
“Bellingham hasn’t quite hit those levels at Real Madrid this season, but he’s been the best player in the tournament for me.”
Bellingham, 23, has become a big-game player for England – with nine goals and three assists in World Cups and European Championships.
His Real Madrid team-mate Mbappe – with 12 – is the only European player to have scored more than nine goals in a major tournament before the age of 24.
Bellingham has averaged a goal or assist every 138 minutes at major tournaments for England, compared to one every 284 minutes in other international matches.
He scored in the group wins over Croatia and Panama at this World Cup, then twice against both Mexico and Norway in the knockout stage.
“With Jude, it’s all about energy, passion, desire, drive and that’s how he’s getting his rewards,” said Rooney.
“That’s very rare to have that. A lot of these top players rely on the ability and the technique to get their moments. Jude has desire and hunger and it’s so refreshing to see a player playing the toughest game but also doing it.
“That’s what fans want, especially the England fans. They want to see players running and working for the team and for the badge.
“He reminds me of me in terms of one minute you’re thinking, ‘this lad’s a genius’, and the next minute you’re thinking, ‘don’t go into that tackle, don’t get sent off’.
“It’s exactly how I was. But he’s obviously backing it up in the biggest tournament. There were doubters before but he’s put all that to bed.”
Rodrigo de Paul has become, in this Argentina squad, what Jose Manuel Pinto once was at Barcelona, or Luis Suarez later became: the team-mate with whom Messi instantly feels at home.
Their bond was forged on international duty. Until then, the midfielder’s only connection to Messi had been asking for a photo after a Valencia–Barcelona match, which he proudly posted on social media.
One afternoon, he noticed Messi leave training alone, looking subdued. Concerned, De Paul waited about 40 minutes before knocking on his door.
“Fancy a mate and a game of truco?”
A friendship began, with its own strict etiquette. Mate, the drink, together every morning in De Paul’s room. In order of arrival, Leo first, then other members of the squad. If they got up too early, they have to wait for the moment to get to De Paul’s room, nobody can jump the routine.
De Paul sometimes calls Messi ‘El Pequeno’ (the little one), even though he is the oldest in the room.
He needles him, treats him like a normal guy rather than a monument, because that is what Messi actually more often than not wants: to be Leo, not Messi. De Paul knows him well enough to sense when to leave him alone, too.
Walking out to the pitch, Messi leads, De Paul at his side, the rest of the squad fanning out behind almost in a wedge – like a street gang protecting its leader.
For many of this group Messi was never simply a team-mate first, he was the childhood idol on television, the reason some of them picked up a ball at all.
The whole squad wears the same boots, the Adidas Adistar Messi. For his birthday in June, the players wore a T-shirt printed with a photo of themselves alongside Leo from some point across his years with the national team.
ARLINGTON, Texas — In a World Cup boasting a galaxy of stars, a lunch-bucket team of blue-collar everymen may wind up outshining them all.
Spain punched its ticket to the final Tuesday by smothering France 2-0 at AT&T Stadium, running its unbeaten streak to 37 games while eliminating a team that had run roughshod through the tournament.
And it wasn’t even close. France came into the game with 16 goals, second only to Argentina in the tournament, then failed to put a shot on goal in the first 81 minutes
It had Kylian Mbappé, who is tied with Lionel Messi for the scoring lead this summer and was the Golden Boot winner four years ago in Qatar. He was all but invisible until, frustrated, he felled Spanish keeper Unai Simón with a cheap shot in the final minutes, drawing a well-deserved yellow card.
France couldn’t even score into an open net, with Desire Doue lining a low shot right at a rapidly retreating Simón, who had come well off his line and left the goal unattended. For Simón, Tuesday’s clean sheet was his sixth in seven games in this tournament.
Spain will meet the winner of Wednesday’s second semifinal between England and reigning champion Argentina on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.\
France’s Kylian Mbappé reacts after losing to Spain during a World Cup semifinal in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.
(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)
“Whoever comes, comes,” teenage center back Pau Cubarsí said in Spanish. “I don’t think I want any of them. Let it be God’s will. We’re going to New York and then we’ll figure out who needs to come.”
Winning with defense may not be attractive, but it’s certainly been effective. And for Spain, the approach certainly fits with its team-first mentality.
“There was some talk that our defense and goalkeeping weren’t up to par. But I think we’ve silenced a lot of critics,” Cubarsí said. “We’ve only conceded one goal and we’re in the final.
“This is a team effort, both those who play and those on the bench.”
Added right back Pedro Porro: “We’re just continuing to work with humility. We’ve been doing things right and building on our strengths. We’ve also been correcting the things we haven’t done well. We’re just taking it step by step.”
It wasn’t so much that France played poorly, although they did. It was that Spain forced them to play that way.
France had never trailed in the tournament, but it fell behind in this one on Mikel Oyarzabal’s successful penalty shot in the 22nd minute. Lucas Digne was called for the foul when he chested down an errant pass from Spain’s Marc Cucurella on the edge of the 18-yard box, then reached out his left boot to control it, only to catch the leg of Spain’s Lamine Yamal who was charging in from the blind side.
Salvadoran referee Iván Barton immediately pointed to the spot and Oyarzabal stepped up and obliged, beating French keeper Mike Maignan into the side netting at the right post for his fifth goal of the tournament. The score was the first Maignan had allowed in the knockout rounds, snapping a 360-minute scoreless streak and it would be all Spain would need to get to the final for the first time since 2010, when it won its only World Cup.
Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon makes a save in front of France’s Theo Hernandez during a World Cup semifinal in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.
(Jessica Tobias / Associated Press)
Maignan didn’t do any better on the second shot he faced, this one coming 13 minutes into the second half when Porro came in alone on the keeper, then used his right foot to flick the ball by the goalkeeper to double Spain’s lead.
“My son couldn’t come today because he’s feeling a little under the weather with a fever,” said Porro, who dedicated his goal to the boy. “It was a mix of emotions because he couldn’t be here, and then his dad scored a goal.
“I wanted to look out at the stands and the only people there were my partner, my father-in-law and my physical therapist.”
For Porro, the goal was a measure of redemption as well. There were doubters when coach Luis de la Fuente named him to the World Cup team and those critics grew louder when De la Fuente made him a starter.
But those critics fell notably silent Tuesday.
“I don’t have to prove anything to anyone,” Porro said. “Obviously, I never imagined — not even in my wildest dreams — that I’d be playing in this World Cup the way I am.
Spain’s Pedro Porro celebrates after beating France during a World Cup semifinal Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.
(Florencia Tan Jun / Getty Images)
“But it’s also thanks to my teammates, and thanks to the coach for the confidence he’s shown in me from the very beginning.”
Spain hasn’t lost a game in the knockout phase of a World Cup since 2006 — when it fell to France — playing to draws in the round of 16 in the last two tournaments before being eliminated both times on penalties. They didn’t let it come down to that this time.
“We’re in a final. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Cubarsí, 19. “Maybe I’m still too young for everything I’m going through right now. But soccer is something to be enjoyed. Opportunities will come your way if you’re willing to make sacrifices and all that.”
For French coach Didier Deschamps, meanwhile, the loss marked his penultimate game with a team he’s taken to two World Cup finals in 15 years as coach. He had earlier announced he would be stepping aside after the tournament. Instead of capping raucous Bastille Day celebrations in France with a trip to the World Cup final, Deshamps and his squad will travel to Miami to play in the third-place game.
Some players knelt at the final whistle, head down, staring at the turf.
“There’s obviously a lot of disappointment,” Deschamps said. “The players are devastated because we had high hopes. Even so, we have to be realistic and acknowledge that today we were a step behind technically against a team that played very well.
“It’s our fault, first and foremost.”
Well, not really. The credit should go to Spain.
EXPLAINER
Al Jazeera put nine leading AI models to the test to predict the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup champion.
Published On 14 Jul 202614 Jul 2026
As the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup enters its final stages, AJLabs asked nine leading AI models to predict the tournament’s final podium based on all available data for each team, including:
France emerged as the favourite to lift the trophy, receiving five (Gemini, Grock, DeepSeek, Le Chat and Qwen) of the nine champion votes.
Argentina, the defending world champions, received the remaining four votes (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Meta AI).
Predictions for the runner-up were more divided: France and Argentina each received three votes, followed by England with two and Spain with one.
Spain was the clear favourite to finish third, receiving six of the nine third-place predictions, while England and France each received fewer votes.
The predictions reflect a broad AI consensus around the four remaining contenders, France, Argentina, Spain and England, but also highlight differences in how leading language models weigh recent performances, squad depth and tournament momentum.
The AI predictions come as the tournament reaches the semifinals. France will face Spain on July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, while England will meet Argentina on July 15 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
The third-place playoff will be played on July 18, before the World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Champion predictions
Runner-up predictions
Third-place predictions
I’d definitely rather be playing Argentina than the Swiss and I reckon Thomas Tuchel and the England players will be absolutely delighted too – they will think they can get at Argentina.
In wide areas, Argentina looked vulnerable. Nahuel Molina, who started at right-back, was given a torrid time by Dan Ndoye, who ended up scoring.
Molina got hooked in the end but, whether it is him or Gonzalo Montiel who starts against England, they will have their hands full with Anthony Gordon.
Similarly, whether it is Noni Madueke or Bukayo Saka on the right, I think they will have the better of Argentina left-back Nicolas Tagliafico in one-on-one duels too.
And, in the centre of their defence, Lisandro Martinez has made mistake after mistake in this tournament. He has got another rick in him, I’m sure of that.
The way Argentina set-up, they overload the middle of the pitch and play really narrow, then try to get Messi on the ball and hope he can produce something.
I know it is easy to say ‘you stop Messi, you stop Argentina’ but watching them, that was literally the case. Apart from Messi they are hoping Julian Alvarez bends one in from 25 yards rather than playing through teams.
Alvarez is usually in midfield but he played slightly differently against Switzerland, and was the one trying to stretch their backline. If he wasn’t doing it, no-one else was.
Messi certainly isn’t going to be making those runs and he was really quiet for long periods against the Swiss, but once they were down to 10 men he was probing and looking more of a threat.
If Declan Rice is fit, then it will be his job to deal with him. The Swiss realised you could not give Messi an inch and Granit Xhaka was brilliant at that.
Messi will still be dangerous but he is 39 now and, as long as Tuchel has a plan to stop him drifting into space, I think England will have enough quality everywhere else to win.
Look, it will be a brilliant tie because of all the history between the two countries at World Cups, with the Diego Maradona handball and the David Beckham red card.
The previous meetings have been pretty feisty, and I am expecting more of the same here.
I would not be surprised to see some antics from the Argentina players because they love that side of it. They will be happy if it turns into that kind of game, where things get a bit wild and England players might lose their heads.
But, if they can keep their cool, I am expecting England to win comfortably – and my other prediction is for Argentina to finish the game with nine men.
Messi has never played against England, and maybe he will make his mark, but England have got their own superstar now in Jude Bellingham.
His first goal against Norway was sensational, with his power, poise and the finish. He is absolutely flying at the moment and if it comes down to one player deciding this game, it is likely to be him.
Sutton’s prediction: 3-1
AI’s prediction: 1-2
The football teams of forty-eight countries set out with a chance of winning the World Cup on June 11, and the hopes of just four nations remain alive.
The top four teams in the FIFA rankings, with eight previous titles between them, will lock horns on Tuesday and Wednesday to try to secure a place in what is set to be the grandest of showpiece occasions in sport: the World Cup Final at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday, July 19.
list of 4 itemsend of list
Al Jazeera ranks the contenders for the title:
What’s this? The defending champions as the outsiders?
Well, Algeria, Austria, Jordan, Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland must be one of the kindest ever paths to the business end of a World Cup, and La Albiceleste have not exactly been convincing along it.
They were made to sweat by Cape Verde and Egypt in the knockout stages before finding a way to prevail in dramatic circumstances, and the pattern was repeated against Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday night, when they went almost 90 minutes without a shot on target following Alexis Mac Allister’s early opening goal.
Their ageing side eventually prevailed after 120 minutes in sweltering conditions. Had Switzerland kept 11 men on the field, things might have been very different, but, once again, in the end, the defending champions found a way to win when they were well below their best.
Surely they cannot get away with another performance like that against England? Well, England fans might well be saying the same about the Three Lions. Both Harry Kane and Lionel Messi fell well short of their best in the last-eight matchups too.
The outpouring of emotion from Messi at full-time in the comeback win over Egypt showed just how close the three-time winners came to being eliminated. In an already emotionally charged matchup with England, expect tempers to rise and tears to flow on either side come full-time.
If Argentina, and – in his first-ever appearance against the Three Lions – Messi, are able to rediscover their swagger and win, ousting their old foes from the tournament in the knockout stages for a third straight time, then the confidence and momentum they would take into the final would be huge.
However, nothing they have shown in the US this summer would suggest that is likely to happen.
And even if it did, whether it would be enough to give them the edge against European champions Spain, or a vengeful France side they vanquished on penalties in the epic final of Qatar 2022, is another matter entirely.
Have we seen the best of England in this tournament? Probably not. And yet, here they are, in the semifinals for just the fourth time ever.
The win over Norway was neither pretty nor convincing, and manager Thomas Tuchel admitted they were lucky to get through, thanks largely to Jude Bellingham putting the team on his shoulders at a couple of key moments once again. Could a midfielder really win the Golden Boot? He is only two behind Messi and Kylian Mbappe with six goals already.
Much to Tuchel’s frustration, bar a 20-minute purple patch in the second half of the 4-2 opening game win against Croatia, England have yet to dominate a team, and relied on counterattacking bursts to give them a 3-2 lead to defend in the epic round-of-16 victory over Mexico in the cauldron of the Azteca.
What they have shown is character, in abundance, and they will likely need plenty more of that if they are to end 60 years of longing for a second World Cup title.
The game against Argentina will be far more than 11 vs 11; the ghosts of football history will line up alongside both teams, and the hype and pressure are sure to be enormous.
A few possible positives for England will be that they have already made par for this tournament: Ranked fourth in the world, they have reached the last four. Anything else would be a bonus. Nobody really considers them a top-two team in the world, which might help to alleviate some of the burden of expectation.
After a trip to the altitude of Mexico City, and the oppressive heat and humidity of Miami, a return to the 22-Celsius (71.6F) climate-controlled confines of Atlanta, where England overcame DR Congo in the round of 32, will be welcome.
They also have no new suspensions to deal with, with Jarell Quansah left with one game of his two-match ban to serve; and there were minutes for Reece James against Norway. England will meanwhile be hoping Declan Rice recovers fully after a 45-minute cameo in which he was patently not fit following illness.
An ageing Argentina side have struggled against the pace, movement and trickery of Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland in the past three rounds, and Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, and even Marcus Rashford will be even better placed to exploit that.
Beyond Messi, Argentina have not posed too many attacking questions themselves, though Julian Alvarez’s stunning strike against Switzerland might just be the start of his own World Cup.
All things considered, expect England to make it through to the final, but France would likely be a step too far, and even Spain would be a big ask, despite the additional motivation of revenge for their Euro 2024 final defeat.
They are the third semifinalists yet to find top gear at this tournament, bar a one-sided display against Austria in the round of 32.
La Roja’s stoic defence might have been punctured for the first time this summer by Belgium in the last eight, but the 649 minutes that preceded that goal were the longest streak in World Cup history without conceding, and they have still allowed just seven shots on target in their six matches so far.
Though the goal contribution stats might not reflect it, Lamine Yamal has shown flashes of a return to top form after that season-ending hamstring injury in April, while La Roja’s carousel of tricky attackers has posed problems for defences in all six matches so far, and Mikel Merino has written himself into folklore with last-gasp winners against Portugal and Belgium.
Four-goal leading scorer Mikel Oyarzabal has gone off the boil in the past couple of games, however, and is unlikely to strike too much fear into the French backline.
While teenage defender Pau Cubarsi looks at home on the biggest stage of all, he is yet to face the kind of test that Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele will pose.
If they make the final, Spain will be favourites to win it, and they have won the World Cup the only time they previously reached the last four, but despite having beaten France in their past two encounters, a third should be beyond them.
Before their last-eight matchup with Morocco, we asserted that France were the class of the field with a fearsome foursome in attack and a defence that, although it had not really been tested yet, had only allowed two goals in five matches.
Well, make that two in six, even if they still have not really been tested, such was the Atlas Lions’ toothless attack on the night in their 2-0 defeat.
Mbappe further enhanced his credentials for the Golden Boot and all-time World Cup scoring record with another quality goal against Morocco, and Olise, Dembele, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola continue to threaten across the field in a way no other team on earth can.
Spain, and in particular their defence, will pose a different challenge, and the underworked French defence will likely get their own test this time, too, with the likes of Dani Olmo, Alex Baena, Ferran Torres and Fabian Ruiz getting into promising positions around Oyarzabal, and that’s not to mention super-sub Merino.
Whoever beats France will surely lift the World Cup, but none of the remaining teams can match the dynamism of Les Bleus’ forwards. Although Spain will likely be their hardest challenge, it is one you can expect Didier Deschamps’s men to overcome, not least fuelled by the additional motivation of having lost to La Roja in the Euro 2024 and Nations League semifinals over the past two years.
The two finalists from Qatar 2022 could well be on course for a rerun as the FIFA World Cup 2026 draws to a close.
Lionel Messi led Argentina to glory four years ago against a France side that were defending the title they won at Russia 2018.
list of 4 itemsend of list
Argentina and France overcame Croatia and Morocco, respectively, in the semifinals, both surpassing expectations to reach that stage.
This time, however, both teams will face sides considered serious contenders for the title.
Al Jazeera takes a look at whether we are witnessing the best last-four lineup in World Cup history, and with it, potentially, the beautiful game’s greatest finale.
The lineup for the 2026 semifinals marks the first time since FIFA rankings began – in 1992 – that the current top four sides in the world have made it to this stage.
France currently hold the number one spot, and are led by one of the most feared strikers in the world, Kylian Mbappe, while also boasting the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, Ousmane Dembele.
Argentina are ranked second and led by a player in Lionel Messi who, after having helped his side become only the third to defend a World Cup, may well be acknowledged as the greatest of all time.
Spain are ranked third and boast La Liga starlet Lamine Yamal of Barcelona. The Spanish have reached the semis with a miserly defence, but the stage may now be set for Yamal to fully shake off the memory of the calf injury that forced him to miss the end of the domestic season and shine much as he did in helping the Spanish to the Euro 2024 title.
England are the lowest-ranked of the remaining teams but considered the second favourites to lift the title behind France. This is mainly based on the incredible talents of not only Harry Kane, but also Jude Bellingham, who some suggest may be regarded as the greatest player to emerge from England, should he continue to drag the side all the way.
There is also a feeling, though, that England’s wide players may now be allowed to come to the fore with the game set to open up against more attack-minded opponents.
France lifted their second World Cup when they beat final debutants Croatia to seal the crown. Croatia were the heavy underdogs, and they themselves beat an England side seen as surprise semifinalists.
Belgium enjoyed a long run as the number one side in the world through the period, although their star-studded squad failed to fulfil their potential at major tournaments.
The Germans claimed their fourth title in South America after stunning the tournament hosts, Brazil, with a 7-1 demolition in their last-four clash.
Lionel Messi was named player of the tournament, but could do little to inspire insipid matches against the Netherlands and Germany. Both matches went to extra time: Argentina sealed a 1-0 win in the semifinal before losing on penalties after a 0-0 draw against the Germans in the final.
Germany’s Manuel Neuer was named the goalkeeper of the tournament, which perhaps said it all about the German efficiency that year, which saw the semifinal mauling regarded as more of a blip than the result of free-flowing football. Much of the headline-grabbing scoreline was down to Brazil’s underwhelming squad.
The final was marred by Zinedine Zidane’s head-butt that resulted in the red card that would end his playing career, but overall, it was two sides in decline following golden generations, and ended with Italy claiming their fourth title after penalties.
A young Ronaldo was to be spotted for the first time at the global showpiece, but better days were to come for Portugal, while Germany were heavily reliant on Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose in an otherwise average side.
The football was bleak, but the names were legendary. Regarded as one of the poorest World Cups of modern times, the football was conservative, and the day-and-age of lumping anyone with any skill still reigned over the game.
Germany were led and marshalled by Lothar Matthaus, while Jurgen Klinsmann and Rudi Voller were the dead-eye duo in attack that seemed to find a way to the end of every cross and through ball. The pair were enough to see off one of England’s finest generations – with Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker the standouts – in the semifinals, and Diego Maradona and the defending champions Argentina in the final.
Italy’s Salvatore Schillaci etched his name into World Cup folklore as an iconic player when he stole the show from some of the bigger and more glamorous players to seal the Golden Boot with six goals.
The football was brutal throughout, and the most romantic part of the tournament was the wonder of the Italian cities and their history, as well as the tournament’s theme tune: Nessun Dorma, sung by Luciano Pavarotti. If only the football had hit the same notes.
Argentina and, in particular, Diego Maradona lit up the finals. Mainly due to Maradona’s brilliant second goal in his side’s 3-2 win against England in the quarterfinals, which also saw him net the infamous “Hand of God” goal as the diminutive forward challenged English keeper Peter Shilton for a ball in the air.
It was otherwise mostly blood and thunder at the tournament, and neither West Germany, France, nor Belgium particularly illuminated, but it was a worthy mention for Maradona’s emergence. His five goals were only pipped for the Golden Boot by Lineker’s six strikes.
The world was introduced to “Total Football” at the 1974 edition, with Johan Cruyff setting the tone for the sharp passing and movement of the Dutch. It was not enough to topple the hosts, however, who claimed their second crown.
Brazil, meanwhile, were beginning their decline, which would last nearly 20 years, following the retirement of Pele at the previous edition.
The world got its first glimpse at a new way of playing football: the Brazilian way. Pele debuted at the 1958 edition and was the solitary target of the boot boys – the players that spent the whole match kicking opponents as high as they could – until the 1970 edition, when he was joined by the first great international side of superstars.
England had the timeless talent of Bobby Charlton when they won it in 1966, but it was overwhelmingly a tournament of bullies. Indeed, Pele was given the full treatment by England in the quarterfinals, where the Brazilians’ attempt at a third straight title ended.
In 1970, however, it was nearly impossible to get near the pace and play of the Brazilians, as well as the power.
They were well ahead of their time and remain one of the greatest to grace the game. They were also furlongs ahead of any opposition.
It is very hard to see past the array of talent on display across all four of the sides; so much so that Messi and the defending champions are now seen as the outsiders in this stage.
The answer will truly lie in the football, and the teams that have had to endure not only the rise of the professional and tactical standard across the globe, but also the emergence of so many new nations that will hope to hold their own for years to come.
DR Congo and Cape Verde delighted, and have given the world a taste of things to come, especially with a 64-team tournament mooted for the 2030 edition.
For now, however, all eyes are on four nations, who could produce the global game’s most beautiful moment.
Latest match highlights, reaction and previews from the FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America.
Source link
Live coverage and updates from our text commentary stream as Messi's Argentina face Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
Source link
Three wins to go. How can your team reach the final and win the World Cup 2026? Click here to find out.
Who: Argentina vs Switzerland
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 – Quarterfinal
Where: Kansas City Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, the United States
When: Saturday at 8pm (01:00 GMT on Sunday)
How to follow: We will have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 22:00 GMT before our live text commentary stream.
list of 3 itemsend of list
After two gruelling knockout contests, defined by controversies more than goals, Argentina enter the business end of the World Cup.
The reigning champions outclassed most title contenders in the group stage, thanks to the unstoppable striking force of Lionel Messi.
But their unconvincing, stuttering run in the knockout phase – where they were pitted against far inferior opponents – has raised a question: Can Argentina really retain their title?
Up next for the two-time world champions is Switzerland, who have quietly made a remarkable return to the quarterfinals for the first time in 72 years.
The impressive duo of Breel Embolo and Johan Manzambi has won Swiss hearts, and Saturday’s clash offers them a chance to seek revenge for a World Cup defeat by Argentina in 2014.
Argentina had a strong showing in the first round, topping Group J by beating Austria, Jordan and Algeria. In the round of 32, they were pushed to their limits by Cape Verde before squeezing past 3-2 in extra time, and came from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in a controversial last-16 contest which drew allegations of officiating bias.
Switzerland topped Group B with an unbeaten record, winning against Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and drawing with Qatar. They beat Algeria 2-0 in the round of 32 and beat Colombia 4-3 on penalties to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in 72 years.
What started out as a confident campaign has slowly turned into a shaky title defence for Argentina.
Tournament debutants Cape Verde – the smallest nation to play in the World Cup knockouts – gave Argentina a wake-up call, forcing the reigning champions to dig deep for victory.
The Argentinian suffering continued in the next game, where they trailed 2-0 against Egypt before turning it around in stoppage time – in a contest where the opposition accused the referee of favouring the title holders.
These performances have pushed Argentina down to fourth in the pecking order of the favourites, while they’ve also slipped from the top spot to number two in the FIFA rankings.
It has instilled the belief in the Swiss camp that beating Argentina is not out of reach.
“We’re up against the defending champions, which is a unique opportunity. At the same time, we’ve realised that Argentina are not invincible,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said.
“It should be an interesting match from a tactical point of view.”
At 39, when most players’ careers are long behind them, Messi is proving that age is just a number.
In his sixth and possibly last World Cup, Messi has maintained a perfect record, scoring in each of Argentina’s five matches so far. His eight goals keep him second in the Golden Boot race, only behind France’s Kylian Mbappe, who has also scored eight goals but has played a game more, on account of assists.
Although no longer at his athletic peak, Messi is still very much carrying the burden of the goal-scoring duties for his national team – and rescued them from early elimination in the round of 16 with a goal and assist.
In a rare show of emotion, he even broke down after that game, saying he was desperate for his World Cup journey to continue.
But after his own admission of fatigue after playing 120 minutes against Cape Verde and pushing hard against a resilient Egypt, Messi’s ageing body is fighting to keep up with the gruelling demands of tournament football.
As the stakes get higher and the margins for error reduce, it begs the question: Will age finally catch up with him?
The Opta supercomputer gives Argentina a 57.1 percent likelihood of winning in regulation time, while Switzerland’s chances of winning are 18.7 percent.
The model estimated a 24.2 percent probability of the game going to extra time.
To check the TV listings for your country, head to FIFA’s TV listing schedule here.
The winner of the Argentina vs Switzerland match will face either Norway or England in the semifinals in Atlanta on Wednesday.
The two countries have met seven times, with Argentina winning five of those matches, while two ended in a draw.
Argentina have also won both of their World Cup games against Switzerland: 2-0 in a group game in 1966 and 1-0 in the round of 16 in 2014, which was also the last meeting between the sides in any competition.
Only three players remain from the 2014 meeting: Messi, Swiss captain Granit Xhaka, and defender Ricardo Rodriguez.
While no injuries are reported in the Argentina camp, Switzerland’s Manzambi and Jaquez are out with knee and muscle injuries, respectively, while Aebischer is doubtful.
Manzambi, Switzerland’s 20-year-old breakout star, also missed the last game.
(4-1-3-2): Martinez (goalkeeper); Molina, Romero, Lisandro, Tagliafico; Paredes; De Paul, Enzo, Mac Allister; Messi, Lautaro
(4-2-3-1): Kobel (goalkeeper); Zakaria, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez; Freuler, Xhaka; Vargas, Rieder, Ndoye; Embolo
Beard will complete a long season after the final two Wales matches against Argentina and South Africa in Durban next weekend.
The former Ospreys lock had only just linked up with the Wales squad a couple of days before the Fiji game, following a mammoth first season with French club Montpellier, which included a Challenge Cup success and losing the Top 14 final to Toulouse.
“I have personally loved it and it was probably the best decision I’ve made rugby wise so far for myself and my family,” said Beard.
“It was a tough decision at first, leaving the Ospreys after being there since I was 14.
“But it was probably something, if I didn’t join Montpellier, I might have regretted at the end of my career.”
While playing in France is a tough challenge, it is also a rewarding one said Beard.
“It’s a physical league and you’ve got to play 30 games a season,” he added.
“But just the support and passion, everything they do out in the Top 14 is a different level to what I’ve experienced before.
“So it’s been an amazing move for myself and my family.”