Harry Kane addresses England vs Argentina rivalry ahead of World Cup match

England will have their first World Cup semi-final match in eight years on Wednesday, when Thomas Tuchel’s team takes on Argentina for a spot in Saturday’s final, with the winner facing either France or Spain.

But it’s fair to say England and Argentina have a few historic rivalries. In the world of sport, Diego Maradona’s infamous “hand of God” goal in 1986 helped to eliminate England from the contest, and as for politics, tensions remain over the Falkland Islands being a British overseas territory following the war in 1982.

Indeed, on Saturday, just days before the World Cup match, Argentina’s foreign minister Pablo Quirno penned a piece for La Nacion in which he wrote that the population of the Falklands were “artificially implanted by the occupying power” and called on Argentinians not to “fall into the referendum trap”.

Falkland Islanders voted on whether to remain a British overseas territory in a referendum in 2013, and decided to stay linked to the UK.

Downing Street later slapped down Quirno’s comments, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman saying: “The UK’s position is clear. The islanders have repeatedly expressed their wish to remain a British overseas territory, and their right to self-determination is paramount.”

Awkward.

And now England captain Harry Kane has commented on the rivalry between the two sides, telling ITV Sport on Monday: “I think it’s not something you want to focus too much on surrounding the history, and yeah, that’s all part of it, and that’s what you guys will talk about.

“But from players’ point of view, it’s us against a great team who are smart, who are tactical, who know how to buy fouls, know how to slow the game down.”

The big match kicks off at 8pm (BST) on Wednesday.

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