06/02/62: England defeated Argentina 3-1 in the Group Stage of the 1962 World Cup, in Chile. Both England and Argentina finished 1-1-1 in the Group Stage, but England had a better goal average, so England advanced to the knockout rounds, while Argentina's tournament was over.
07/23/66: England defeated Argentina 1-0 in the Quarter-Finals of the 1966 World Cup, in England. The 1966 World Cup was a cracker -- each of the seven knockout games had a lot of drama, and this game was one of the best. In the 35th minute of an extremely violent game, the referee sent off the Argentine captain, who responded by refusing to leave the pitch for nearly eight minutes. The English fans were furious, and England manager Alf Ramsey famously referred to the Argentine players as "animals." This game led to the creation of red and yellow cards, as the Argentine captain claimed that he could not understand what the German referee was telling him. England won the World Cup for the first and only time, and Argentina, furious over how it was treated, waited for revenge.
06/22/86: Argentina defeated England 2-1 in the Quarter-Finals of the 1986 World Cup, in Mexico. England was in the Quarter-Finals for the first time since 1970, but they were no match for Diego Maradona, who was the greatest player in the world at the time. In the most famous game he ever played, Maradona scored one goal by using his fist (the so-called "Hand of God") to help his header. The referees missed the fist and counted the goal. That was in the 51st minute, and it gave Argentina a 1-0 lead. Four minutes leader, with England still boiling over the Hand of God goal, Maradona dribbled through virtually the entire England team, scoring one of the best goals in soccer history to put Argentina up 2-0 and effectively bury England's hope. Argentina won its second World Cup in 1986, and England fans started acting like Red Sox fans used to act before they won all those World Series.
06/30/98: Argentina defeated England 2-2 (4-3 on penalty kicks) in the Round of 16 of the 1998 World Cup, in France. The atmosphere was electric for the first World Cup match between England and Argentina since the Hand of God game, and the first half was incredibly exciting. Argentina took a 1-0 lead after 5 minutes, but England struck back with a penalty goal in the 9th minute and a wonderful goal by Michael Owen in the 16th minute to take a 2-1 lead. In injury time of the first half, Argentina tied the game at two. Just as everyone was settling in for what was likely to be a thrilling second half, David Beckham (who was just about the most famous soccer player in the world at the time) was sent off with a red card in the 47th minute. That effectively killed England's offense, but England hung on with ten men to send the game to penalty kicks. Argentina won the shootout 4-3, further contributing to England's inferiority complex regarding penalty kicks. Argentina lost in the next round, but both countries had a new chapter in this rivalry.
06/07/02: England defeated Argentina 1-0 in the Group Stage of the 2002 World Cup, in Japan. England advanced to the knockout rounds with a record of 1-0-2, losing in the Quarter-Finals to Brazil, who won the whole thing. Argentina finished the Group Stage with a record of 1-1-1, and did not advance to the knockout rounds.
And that's it. England eliminated Argentina in 1966, and effectively eliminated them in both 1962 and 2002, because England's wins in the Group Stage made it impossible for Argentina to advance. On the other hand, Argentina eliminated England in 1986 and 2002, and Argentina has three World Cup titles to England's one. Argentina also has Lionel Messi -- a strong candidate for the greatest soccer player of all time. Remarkably, Messi has never played for Argentina against England. But he will tomorrow.
If you're an England or Argentina fan my age, this will be the fourth time you've seen these teams meet in the World Cup -- and it may be the last. The stakes are enormous. In the South, we like to say that "It just means more," but there aren't too many games that mean more than this.
Here are the starting lineups:
ENGLAND (4-2-3-1):
GK: Jordan Pickford, Everton (ENG)
DF: Reece James, Chelsea (ENG)
DF: John Stones, played last season for Manchester City (ENG) (currently a free agent)
DF: Marc Guehi, Manchester City (ENG)
DF: Djed Spence, Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
DF: Djed Spence, Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
MF: Declan Rice (Vice-Captain), Arsenal (ENG)
MF: Elliot Anderson, Manchester City (ENG)
MF: Morgan Rogers, Aston Villa (ENG)
MF: Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid (ESP)
FW: Anthony Gordon, Barcelona (ESP)
FW: Harry Kane (Captain), Bayern Munich (GER)
ARGENTINA (4-1-3-2):
GK: Emiliano Martinez, Aston Villa (ENG)
DF: Nahuel Molina, Atletico Madrid (ESP)
DF: Nahuel Molina, Atletico Madrid (ESP)
DF: Cristian Romero, Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
DF: Lisandro Martinez, Manchester Utd (ENG)
DF: Nicolas Tagliafico, Lyon (FRA)
DF: Lisandro Martinez, Manchester Utd (ENG)
DF: Nicolas Tagliafico, Lyon (FRA)
MF: Leandro Paredes, Boca Juniors (ARG)
FW: Giuliano Simeone, Atletico Madrid (ESP)
FW: Giuliano Simeone, Atletico Madrid (ESP)
MF: Enzo Fernandez, Chelsea (ENG)
MF: Alexis Mac Allister, Liverpool (ENG)
FW: Lionel Messi (Captain), Inter Miami (USA)
FW: Julian Alvarez, Atletico Madrid (ESP)
This game is at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, so we have air conditioning.
ReplyDelete10 minutes: England 0 - 0 Argentina
ReplyDeleteOdds on Polymarket:
ReplyDeleteEngland: 37 percent
Draw: 35 percent (pays off if the match goes to penalty kicks)
Argentina: 29 percent
There is no flow to the game so far because guys are going to the ground once every 30 seconds or so. The Guardian commentator says it looks like a match between Paraguay and Paraguay.
ReplyDeleteThe best way to explain Argentina is that they are the Bad Boy Pistons, with Messi as their Isiah Thomas. Because they are so violent and awkward, it's easy to underestimate how good they really are. Like the old Pistons, they don't play this way because they aren't talented -- they play this way because they think it's fun.
ReplyDeleteOne thing is for sure: any time an English player has the ball for more than five seconds, he is going to be kicked by an Argentine player.
ReplyDelete20 minutes: England 0 - 0 Argentina
ReplyDeleteOdds on Polymarket:
ReplyDeleteEngland: 37 percent
Draw: 35 percent
Argentina: 28 percent
When Argentina have the ball, they walk it up the field, and then they start passing it around and around the perimeter. Then they have about three or four guys who are in the middle of the England defense, and those guys keep feinting like they're heading for the goal. Every once in a while, the guy with ball at the perimeter will shoot a pass to one of the guys breaking toward the goal. It's slow and exhausting, but extremely nerve-wracking.
ReplyDeleteIf the University of Tennessee had been playing soccer for the last 120 years, and currently played in front of huge crowds at Neyland Stadium, they would play almost exactly like Argentina does.
ReplyDeleteWater Break: England 0 - 0 Argentina
ReplyDeleteOdds on Polymarket:
ReplyDeleteDraw: 36 percent
England: 35 percent
Argentina: 29 percent
England wants to play like Kentucky plays basketball -- all fast breaks and pretty passes. But Argentina wants to win.
ReplyDeleteThe England coach is screaming at the officials. But Argentina's chances of getting a red card in this game are about as likely as seeing UT basketball getting called for a technical foul at home. FIFA is, as they say, going to "let them play." Or at least let Argentina play.
ReplyDelete30 minutes: England 0 - 0 Argentina
ReplyDeleteOdds on Polymarket:
ReplyDeleteDraw: 37 percent
England: 36 percent
Argentina: 28 percent
Bellingham finally makes a run down the left side, and is scythed down just outside the penalty box. England get a free kick, and the England coach applauds sarcastically.
ReplyDeleteStones tries to head in the free kick, but his shot goes wide.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, Bellingham is cut down just outside the penalty box, so England get another free kick.
ReplyDeleteThe free kick leads to a lot of headers in front of the goal, but no one scores. Argentina has a breakaway, and then Messie goes down. Now the Argentineans go nuts, and we have a lot of pushing and shoving between both teams. England gets a yellow card and Argentina gets a free kick about 35 yards from the goal.
ReplyDeleteThat free kick leads to a wild scramble and a long shot from Argentina that goes over the cross bar for a goal kick.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, you could tell immediately that it was Spain's day, and that France just wasn't going to put up that much resistance. France knew that Spain was the better team, and that was that. But today's game is not about who's the better team -- it's just about getting the win by hook or by crook.
ReplyDeleteOdds on Polymarket:
ReplyDeleteDraw: 39 percent
England: 33 percent
Argentina: 29 percent
Argentina kick the ball around in front of the England goal for awhile. England finally get it and try to start a breakaway, but the England player with the ball also has an Argentine player holding his right arm. That's a yellow card to Argentina, but it kills England's fast break opportunity.
ReplyDeleteHalftime: England 0 - 0 Argentina
ReplyDeleteOdds on Polymarket:
ReplyDeleteDraw: 42 percent
England: 33 percent
Argentina: 26 percent
There were no shots on target in the first half.
England was called for seven fouls and one yellow card (Anderson). Argentina was called for 12 fouls and one yellow card (L. Martinez). Each team had one corner kick.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy enough to say that this style of play favors Argentina, but what exactly is England supposed to do? Even in basketball, a violent team with good guards can slow a game down at will.
ReplyDeleteThe assistant coach for England says that they want to be the aggressor, they want to force Argentina to keep playing defense, and they want Argentina to get tired. I've watched Kentucky try this same strategy in SEC road games for 50 years, and sometimes it works.
ReplyDeleteEngland takes the kickoff, tries to attack, loses the ball, and now Argentina is kicking it around in the middle of the field again. It's like watching Phil Ford and the four corners, but with kicking.
ReplyDeleteArgentina almost scores on the counterattack, but one shot is stopped by the goalkeeper, and another goes into the side-netting. Now Argentina have a corner.
ReplyDeleteThe corner leads to a run from Messi, but he loses the ball to a goal kick.
ReplyDeleteIt really feels like this game will either: (1) be decided by a mistake, or (2) go to penalty kicks (where it will also be decided by a mistake). In other words, you can't win this game -- you can only lose it.
ReplyDelete50 minutes: England 0 - 0 Argentina
ReplyDeleteOdds on Polymarket:
ReplyDeleteDraw: 45 percent
England: 30 percent
Argentina: 26 percent
Bellingham has a breakaway in midfield, so Cristian Romero just grabs him around the waist. That's a yellow card, but it stops the fast break.
ReplyDeleteEngland is not pressuring Argentina. Instead, the Argentines are pushing their passing game up the field, closer to the England goal.
ReplyDeleteBut there it is! England has been hoofing these long passes up the field, trying to beat the Argentine defense, and it finally works. England gets the equivalent of a four on three fast break, and Anthony Gordon taps in an easy shot to put England up 1-0.
ReplyDeleteIt was not easy -- it was a great pass, but Gordon still did great to control the ball.
DeleteOdds on Polymarket:
ReplyDeleteEngland: 64 percent
Draw: 28 percent
Argentina: 10 percent
Now we're going to see some soccer. Argentina comes flying down the field and only a great tackle stops the breakaway. That sets up a corner, and Argentina are now attacking on all fronts.
ReplyDeleteSo now, Argentina has everyone in a ring around the England penalty box, with Messi positioned just outside the penalty box, right in front of the goal. The ball is whipping around at a dizzying pace as the Argentines look for the tying goal.
ReplyDelete60 minutes: England 1 - 0 Argentina
ReplyDeleteIt will be extremely difficult for England to shut out Argentina for 50 more minutes. They really need another goal on the counterattack.
ReplyDeleteFrom 30 yards out, Messi kicks a pass as accurate as any ball Tom Brady ever threw. It lands directly on the head of an Argentine player about two yards in front of the goal, and would surely have tied the game if not for a spectacular save by Pickford.
ReplyDeleteWater Break: England 1 - 0 Argentina
ReplyDeleteOdds on Polymarket:
ReplyDeleteEngland: 65 percent
Draw: 27 percent
Argentina: 8 percent
Reminder that Argentina was down 2-0 with 77 minutes gone against Egypt, and scored three quick goals to win it without even having to go to Extra Time.
ReplyDeleteUntil there's another goal, or the game ends, the action here is going to be amazing.
ReplyDelete70 minutes: England 1 - 0 Argentina
ReplyDeleteEngland substitutes Ezri Konsa for Anthony Gordon.
ReplyDeleteArgentina substitutes Nicolas Otamendi, Gonzalo Montiel, and Rodrigo De Paul for Lisandro Martinez, Giuliano Simeone, and Nahuel Molina.
ReplyDeletePickford saves another header from about two yards out. Amazing stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnother header from Argentina, but this time they were offside (and they missed).
ReplyDelete