Football has brings both rivalries together as England beat Norway 2-1 and Argentina beat Switzerland 3-1 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Quater final.
England vs Norway
The Three Lions did it again with another World Cup knockout shock when Norway took the lead through Andreas Schjelderup’s fluke goal. But Bellingham rescued England once again to make it England’s third World Cup semi-final appearance since winning the tournament in 1966, where they will face Argentina in the last four.
Before the game, a minute’s silence was held for Jayden Adams, the South African midfielder who died aged 25, only weeks after playing for his country at the World Cup.
England had a positive start, as Noni Madueke burst down the right wing, but his cross was poor.
The game was going normal until Andreas Schjelderup’s 36th minute goal, which was assisted by
Martin Ødegaard made the goal resulted 1–0. The 45 + 2′ goal marked a 1-1 draw with a mad goal coming from Jude Bellingham, assisted by Anthony Gordon.
A 93-minute goal by Bellingham made England crash home with an extra-time winner from close-range.
Argentina vs Switzerland
While Argentina goals: Mac Allister (10), Alvarez (112), Lautaro (120+1). Switzerland goals: Doyen (67)
Argentina, who were at a numerical advantage for almost 50 minutes, face fierce rivals England in the second semi-final at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday.
These goals made Argentina score their 15th successive World Cup game. The only teams with longer scoring streaks in the competition are Uruguay (16 games from 1930-1962), Hungary (17 games from 1934-1962), Germany (18 games from 1986-1998), Germany (18 games from 1934-1958) and Brazil (18 games from 1930-1958).
Argentina became the first team ever to score two goals in the same extra-time half in multiple matches in one World Cup.
With both both results, it is very clear that the fixture has now brought two football rivalries together: England and Argentina.
When and what is the result of the previous game between Argentina and England?
Here is the answer:
1962: England 3-1 Argentina (Rancagua, Chile -group stage)
A tame affair compared to what was to follow.
Goals from Ron Flowers, Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Greaves put England into an unassailable 3-0 lead, with a late consolation from Argentina.
Both sides finished the group stage with a win, defeat and a loss, but England edged through at the expense of Argentina thanks to a superior goal difference.
The Three Lions were knocked out by Brazil in the quarter-finals.
1966:At Wembley, England – quarter-finals
Was this the moment the footballing rivalry between the two sides really developed? Possibly. Probably.
The two teams met in the quarter-finals in a match Argentina, to this day, insist they were robbed of, claiming Geoff Hurst’s winning goal was offside.
That was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to controversy though, with Argentina captain Antonio Rattín sent off after just 33 minutes for two offenses in the space of three minutes.
The first was for a trip on Bobby Charlton, the second was for continuing to argue with German referee Rudolf Kreitlein.
The match was delayed for almost eight minutes as Rattin refused to leave the pitch.
England held on, in an incredibly ill-tempered affair, with Three Lions boss Ramsey describing the Argentine side as ‘animals’ and insisting that his players did not swap shirts.
England’s 1966 World Cup
This is the year England won the World Cup. A lot of disputes occurred on the field on that very day, but there is a very particular one which England defender, George Cohen reflected on.
The full story in 2009 said
“Tackling is fine,” he said. “But it was some of Sandy’s things, the spitting and pulling the short hairs on your neck, pulling your ear. They were trying to intimidate us. The trouble was, when they found out they weren’t going to get their way, they fell into some of the worst excesses I’ve ever seen.
“I just consider it the greatest shame that they didn’t play the game they were capable of. We might even have got beaten, but they just should have got on and shown what they could do.
“There was a lot of commotion in the tunnel after the game. Nobody was allowed out, so we didn’t see it.”
The match is also believed to have led to the introduction of red and yellow cards, which were first used in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Previously, referees had to rely on verbal warnings.
1986: Argentina 2-1 England (Mexico City, Mexico – quarter-final)
The Hand of God. Sigh.
This quarter-final was played just four years after the two countries had fought the Falklands War. This wasn’t just a football rivalry, political tensions were huge as well.
The Argentine media and public framed the match as a way to express their resentment at the conflict, while their British counterparts also leaned into it, using nationalistic language to heighten the animosity between the countries.
The report from the game refilled that
The Argentine number 10 leaped for a ball with England goalkeeper Peter Shilton but, somehow unnoticed, he opted to punch the ball into the empty net. If only VAR was around then.
To be fair to Maradona, he then scored probably the greatest World Cup goal of all time as he dribbled through half the England team, rounded Shilton and slotted home to double Argentina’s lead.
“When I lived and worked in Argentina, people regularly brought up the Hand of God,” said Heredia. “But this is to forget that the second goal was just spectacular — almost unbelievable.”
Gary Lineker pulled one back late on, but it was to no avail as England crashed out in the most controversial of circumstances.
It took until 2005 for Maradona to apologize. An apology Shilton rejected.
To crown it all, Argentina went on to beat West Germany in the final to lift the trophy.
1998: Argentina 2-2 England (Argentina win 4-3 on pens) (St Etienne, France – last 16)
A match David Beckham will never forget.
The game will always be remembered for his kick out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone and subsequent red card.
Prior to that, Gabriel Batistuta and Alan Shearer had traded penalties, before Michael Owen scored one of his country’s greatest World Cup goals to give England a 2-1 lead.
Owen burst past the Argentine defense to score a spectacular solo goal, before a clever free-kick saw Javier Zanetti level the scores before the break.
After Beckham’s red, England bravely hung on and even thought they had won it when Sol Campbell headed home in the 81st minute, only for it to be ruled out for a push.
The match went to penalties which, after misses by David Batty and Paul Ince, Argentina prevailed in, before being knocked out themselves in the next round by the Netherlands.
To stoke the tensions in the rivalry further, Simeone admitted a year later: “Let’s just say the referee fell into a trap.
“It was also a difficult one for him to avoid, because I went down well and in moments like that there’s a lot of tension.
“You could say that my falling transformed a yellow card into a red card. But in fact, the most appropriate punishment was a yellow one.”
2002: Argentina 0-1 England (Sapporo, Japan – group stage)
This was the match that will be remembered as redemption for Beckham.
The then England skipper scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot, after Owen was chopped down by Mauricio Pochettino — yes, that one.
Having only drawn with Sweden in their opening group game, it was a crucial win for the Three Lions.
A goalless draw for England against Nigeria in the final match saw them progress, while Argentina – who concluded with a 1-1 draw against Sweden – were eliminated from the knockouts for the first time since 1962.
England went on to beat Denmark in the last 16 before being knocked out by Brazil and Ronaldinho’s impudent free-kick in the quarters while the last senior men’s football match between England and Argentina occurred on November 12, 2005, in a friendly at the Geneva Stadium in Switzerland. England won the game 3-2, with Michael Owen scoring a late brace after Wayne Rooney also found the net, overcoming goals from Hernán Crespo and Walter Samuel for Argentina.
