Key events
Preamble
There’s been so much hype about this match that it’s important we put it in perspective. It is, after all, only the biggest game ever played in football’s greatest cross-continent rivalry.
The history of England v Argentina could already fill a Netflix three-parter, albeit without the chill. It includes the Hand of God in 1986, the Hand of Plod in 1966 and the Hand of Hod a multi-faceted epic in 1998 – but this is the first time they’ve met in the semi-final or the final of a World Cup. For both countries, defeat is so unthinkable that it hurts trying not to think about it.
In movie-poster terms, this is mentality monsters v mentality monsters. England and Argentina have wheezed into the semi-finals, relying on collective defiance, individual brilliance and a team spirit that even Steve Archibald might grudgingly acknowledge. Given the stakes and the in-built intensity of this fixture, it’s hard to see that changing today. Great performances can wait until 2030.
The unspoken fear for both teams is that this is effectively a second-place playoff. Spain will be strong favourites in the final after taking care of France with an authority and synergy that gave some of us a sheen of smugness. But disbelief is easily suspended when you are this close to glory, and right now millions of England and Argentina supporters just want the chance to worry about potential death by tiki-taka.
In a few hours’ time, one of these statements will be true.
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England are in their first men’s World Cup final since 1966.
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Argentina are one game away from becoming the first team to retain the men’s World Cup since Brazil in 1962.
The other one? It happens only in dreams.
Kick off 8pm BST/3pm EST/5am AEST
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