England and Argentina reunite on football’s biggest stage on Wednesday (15 July) for a spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final.
In the quarter-finals, Jude Bellingham saw England past Erling Haaland and Norway with a brace in a 2-1 extra-time victory.
England’s reward is facing another side with a talismanic figurehead. This time, it comes in the form of one of the greatest football players to ever grace the game: Lionel Messi.
Despite the long history between the sides, Messi has never played against England, although he has netted 27 times against English opposition at club level.
Argentina have needed to dig deep in an emotional run to the final four, as they look to defend their title as world champions.
They face an England squad aiming to undo 60 years of hurt since they won their only World Cup in 1966. This is the third time in the last four major tournaments that England have made it through to the semi-finals.
Read on for everything you need to know about Wednesday’s clash.
England vs Argentina – head-to-head record
England have faced Argentina 14 times in international fixtures.
Five have come in FIFA World Cup fixtures; England have won three, Argentina two.
Among those is one of the football’s most famous games.
The 1986 World Cup quarter-final featured both Diego Maradona’s iconic ‘Hand of God’ goal and ‘Goal of the Century’ as Argentina ran out 2-1 winners against England.
12 years later, Argentina beat England again, edging through the 1998 World Cup round of 16 on penalties.
The last time they faced each other in the World Cup was in 2002, when England won a group stage match 1-0.
- 9 May 1951 – England 2-1 Argentina, International Friendly
- 17 May 1953 – Argentina 0-0 England, International Friendly
- 2 June 1962 – England 3-1 Argentina, FIFA World Cup
- 6 June 1964 – Argentina 1-0 England, Copa das Nacoes
- 23 July 1966 – England 1-0 Argentina, FIFA World Cup
- 22 May 1974 – England 2-2 Argentina, International Friendly
- 12 June 1977 – Argentina 1-1 England, International Friendly
- 13 May 1980 – England 3-1 Argentina, International Friendly
- 22 June 1986 – Argentina 2-1 England, FIFA World Cup
- 25 May 1991 – England 2-2 Argentina, England Challenge Cup
- 30 June 1998 – Argentina 2-2 England, FIFA World Cup
- 23 February 2000 – England 0-0 Argentina, International Friendly
- 7 June 2002 – Argentina 0-1 England, FIFA World Cup
- 12 November 2005 – Argentina 2-3 England, International Friendly
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