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JOSÉ RODRÍGUEZ
Updated
The England-Argentina match next Wednesday has plenty of reasons to be special. It will be Lionel Messi’s first-ever clash against England, while also bringing back memories of the Falklands War, Diego Maradona’s two goals in the 1986 World Cup, and David Beckham’s sending-off after a confrontation with Diego Simeone in 1998. It is a rivalry filled with history, although Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni tried to lower the tension after beating Switzerland: “It’s just a soccer match,” he said.
The tension will surely increase as the hours pass and the match approaches, especially after recent comments from some former England players. Joe Cole, during a discussion with Gary Lineker and Micah Richards, said: “Messi needs to be put to sleep.”
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“Don’t say that,” Micah Richards replied, aware that the words could come back to haunt him. “Put him to sleep. I’m saying it now, we’re going to the World Cup final. We’re going to beat them, I feel it in my bones,” Cole added.
Regardless of the result, this will not be Messi’s final World Cup match, as either the final or the third-place match will still remain afterward.
Those comments come after similar remarks from Gary Neville, who both praised and criticized Argentina’s center-back duo, Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez:
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“You have Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez, who seem like they give away a goal every match between them. Then you watch them again and suddenly they are scoring goals, winning every header, and appearing everywhere. Something happens when they put on that shirt. It’s incredible. I call them the best-worst center-back pairing in the world because at times they are absolutely extraordinary, and the next moment they go from sublime to ridiculous.”
“The one who doesn’t jump is English”
After the match against Switzerland and once they learned that England would be their semifinal opponent, Argentina’s players celebrated the victory with their fans, as they usually do. They did so while chanting:
“And now you see, the one who doesn’t jump is English,” a phrase commonly sung by Argentine supporters.
It was also revealed today that Argentina will wear its blue kit against England, just as it did in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals, when Maradona dressed up as a god, first with the infamous Hand of God goal and then with another goal that became one of the greatest moments in soccer history.
