Argentina vs. England Preview
World Cup Final berth on the line
When England and Argentina meet at the World Cup, incredible things tend to happen. The two teams have played each other at five previous World Cups. First was at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, a 3-1 England win. They met again four years later in 1966 when England hosted the tournament and dispatched the Argentines 1-0 on the way to lifting to trophy. Perhaps the most famous of all the games between the two was the 1986 game in Mexico City where Diego Maradonna scored two goals: the infamous Hand of God goal and then, four minutes later, what was eventually dubbed The Goal of the Century. The two met at the 1998 World Cup in France, a game which England would lose on penalties but not before David Beckham had been sent off and shown a red card for kicking Diego Simeone, becoming a national scapegoat. Beckham got his revenge four years later, however, as he scored the only goal on a penalty conceded by Mauricio Pochettino to give England a 1-0 win over their nemesis. What does the sixth World Cup meeting between these two teams have in store?
Argentina breezed through the group stage at this tournament with three easy wins over Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. But in the knockout rounds they have been living ever so dangerously. They were taken to the wire in extra time by Cape Verde, pulling out a narrow 3-2 win. Their next game was against Egypt and in that one they trailed 2-0 with eleven minutes to play. Their fans need not have worried as they banged in three goals in those eleven minutes to book a trip to the quarterfinals. There again, they went to extra time against Switzerland before they got themselves out of jail on a wonder strike from Julian Alvarez. But living on the edge against a team with the quality of England could result in disaster. Cape Verde, Egypt, and Switzerland may not have had the quality or the depth to punish La Albiceleste, but England certainly does.
The Three Lions have not been living quite as dangerously as Argentina has, but their tournament has certainly had its fair share of drama. They topped their group with Croatia and Panama and a draw with Ghana. Their Rd of 32 game against Congo saw them fall behind after just seven minutes. It took nearly the entire game for them to find a breakthrough as Harry Kane (who else) tied it in the 75th minute before winning it in the 86th minute. Up next was their first trip to Azteca in Mexico City since that loss to Argentina in 1986. There they displayed incredible fortitude at altitude to see out a 3-2 win despite playing a man down for most of the second half. Their most recent outing against Norway in the heat and humidity of Miami was another game where they left it late (as the game went to extra time) but they had Jude Bellingham to save the day and punch their ticket to their second World Cup semifinal in the last three tournaments.
When, Where
Date: Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
City: Atlanta, GA
Time: 3pm ET
TV: FOX
How They Qualified
Argentina: CONMEBOL winners
England: UEFA Group K winners
Current FIFA Rankings
Argentina: 3
England: 4
Group Stage performance
Argentina: 1st place Group J (9pts)
England: 1st place Group L (7pts)
Rd of 32 performance
Argentina: 3-2 win vs. Cape Verde (ET)
England: 2-1 vs. Congo
Rd of 16 performance
Argentina: 3-2 win vs. Egypt
England: 3-2 win @ Mexico
Quarterfinal performance
Argentina: 3-1 win vs. Switzerland (ET)
England: 2-1 win vs. Norway (ET)
Photo Credit: CNN