England and Argentina renew fierce World Cup rivalry in 2026 semi-final

Atlanta's 0-0 halftime score kept England and Argentina locked in a scrappy, feisty semi-final as live coverage asked viewers to rate the players out of 10. The ratings call added a second-screen layer to a match already carrying the weight of a World Cup final place, with the winner set to face Spain on Sunday.

FIFA has marked this as the sixth World Cup meeting between England and Argentina, with England carrying the marginally better head-to-head record in the tournament. The two sides first met at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, where England won 3-1, then at Wembley in the 1966 quarter-final, where England won 1-0. Argentina answered in the 1986 quarter-final in Mexico City with a 2-1 victory, before the rivalry reached another flashpoint in 1998.

That 1998 round of 16 in Saint-Étienne remains the defining meeting for many supporters. Played on 30 June 1998 at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, it finished 2-2 after extra time, then Argentina won the shootout 4-3. David Beckham was sent off in that match, later apologising publicly and calling it the worst moment of his career. FIFA banned him for two games and fined him £2,000.

The old flashpoints still shape how the fixture is framed. FIFA’s historical overview points to Antonio Rattin’s sending off in 1966, Diego Maradona’s Hand of God and his second goal in 1986, and Beckham’s dismissal in 1998 as the moments that gave the rivalry its edge. In 2026, that history sat alongside a more modern media package, one built around live updates, halftime scrutiny and the promise of final player ratings 30 minutes after full-time.