England and Argentina play tonight the World Cup semi-final match, a place in the final against Spain on Sunday, a hugely important match that has an extra political layer. Tensions between the country never improved after the Falklands War in 1982, during which Argentina tried and failed to reconquer the Falkland Islands, or Islas Malvinas, an overseas British territory in the coasts of Argentina in the South Pacific.
649 Argentinian were killed and 255 British were killed after ten weeks of conflict, and Argentina continues to demand the sovereignty of the islands to this day. With the city of Atlanta preparing extra security measures for the match, realising its significance, Argentinian Vice President Victoria Villarruel has stated "this isn't another match" and that she won't be "politically correct or cold hearted" when it comes to fighting the British.
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"Tomorrow we play against the usurping pirates. This isn't just another match. I'm not going to be politically correct or cold-hearted; against the English, it's always something more", Villarruel posted on X.
"It's the Malvinas, it's Diego, it's Leo's last one, and it's putting the brakes on the invaders. Go Argentina! Because until our last breath, we're going to claim what's ours!"
Scaloni says he won't mix football with politics
Conversely, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has said that, "out of respect for what happened", he won't mix football with politics. "It was a very sad period in our history, and there isn't much we can do about it, that's the reality", the coach said. "Things are happening elsewhere in the world, and we criticise the existence of war. We certainly remember those people, of course. But it is a football match; we shouldn't confuse the two."
An War Veterans Federation in Argentina also sent a statement asking fans to focus only on football and to "draw a clear and unwavering line between sporting passion and the national cause", as picked by BBC.
England and Argentina has faced 14 times in total in official international football matches, with England winning six times, Argentina winning twice, and 2 draws. Excluding friendlies, they have met five times at World Cup, and Argentina only won once... the 1986 World Cup quarter-final with Maradona scoring the famous "Hand of God" goal.