​A month after the expanded 48-team tournament began, the World Cup has reached the semi-final stage, with France set to meet Spain on Tuesday and holders Argentina prepared to renew their fierce rivalry with England the next day. Argentina, the last team to reach the final four, defeated 10-man Switzerland in extra time on Saturday in Kansas City. A spectacular strike from Julian Alvarez and a late goal from Lautaro Martinez sealed the win for the South Americans after Switzerland’s Dan Ndoye had levelled Alexis Mac Allister’s first-half opener to take the match to extra time.
Argentina are chasing history, aiming to become the first side since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups. They will travel to Atlanta to face England, a team aiming to lift a major trophy for the first time since 1966. England advanced thanks to Jude Bellingham, who struck twice in a 2-1 extra-time win over Norway in Miami. After the match, England coach Thomas Tuchel admitted that while the result was outstanding, the performance left room for improvement, saying, “The result is fantastic. The last four is amazing, but not happy with the performance… we were very lucky today.”
This marks England’s fourth appearance in a World Cup semi-final, following runs in 1966, 1990 and 2018. They have lost their two previous semi-finals, while Argentina have won each of their six prior semi-final appearances. Wednesday’s clash carries significant historical weight: it is played 40 years after a landmark encounter in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals in Mexico. Argentina won that match 2-1 at the Estadio Azteca, with Diego Maradona scoring one of his most famous goals, the “Hand of God,” and another dazzling solo effort regarded as among the greatest World Cup goals. For this generation’s talisman, Lionel Messi, it will be his 206th international appearance and his first ever match against England.
The match unfolds amid a broader backdrop of international tensions, including a lingering sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. Britain sent a military task force to reclaim the islands in 1982 following Argentine forces’ invasion. Argentina’s head coach, Lionel Scaloni, tried to keep things in perspective, saying, “The message is this is a football game. That’s what I can say. It is a football game and we will be playing against a very tough opponent. They have an excellent coach and this is a football game and that’s all.”
The victors of Wednesday’s showdown will secure a place in the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium, just outside New York City, where they will meet either France or Spain. A note on the tournament’s structure underscores why this semi-final lineup is so striking: for the first time at a World Cup, the draw was organized to ensure that the four highest-ranked nations were kept apart, effectively seeding Spain, Argentina, France, and England so they would not meet before the semi-finals, provided they advanced from their groups. With France and Spain slated to face each other in Arlington, just outside Dallas, this Tuesday’s match will mirror a high-stakes, high-profile clash that fans hope will deliver another memorable chapter in World Cup history.