​Argentina national anthem lyrics in English: Explaining Himno Nacional Argentino translation, history and more originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Argentina face England in Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal in Atlanta.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe reigning champions are three wins away from a third star on the crest, after beating a 10-man Switzerland side in extra time to reach the final four.Before kickoff, as always, comes the Himno Nacional Argentino, one of the longest and most dramatically staged national anthems in world sport, sung with real force by players and fans alike.Here’s what the anthem is about, who wrote it, and the history behind it.2026 WORLD CUP HQ:Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup ticketsThe version sung today opens with a call to “hear the sacred cry” of freedom, repeated three times, before describing broken chains and a country now placing equality in the position of highest honor, imagery drawn directly from Argentina’s war of independence in the early 1800s. It ends on a defiant note, vowing to hold onto that victory forever, or die fighting for it.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHear, mortals, the sacred cry:”Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”Hear the sound of broken chainsSee noble equality enthroned.Their most worthy throne have now openedThe United Provinces of the South.And the free people of the world reply:”To the great Argentine people, good health!””To the great Argentine people, good health!”And the free ones of the world reply:”To the great Argentine people, good health!”And the free ones of the world reply:”To the great Argentine people, good health!”The words came from Vicente Lopez y Planes, a Buenos Aires-born lawyer and writer who later briefly served as Argentina’s president. He wrote the lyrics in 1812, reportedly inspired after attending a theatre performance, and Argentina’s governing assembly formally adopted them the following year, on May 11, 1813 — a date still marked annually as Anthem Day.The music was composed separately by Blas Parera, a Spanish-born musician who had settled in Buenos Aires and was already an established composer and teacher in the city. It wasn’t Parera’s first attempt at an Argentine anthem either; he’d written music for two earlier, short-lived patriotic songs before this one became the version that stuck.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe anthem heard at matches today is considerably shorter than the one Argentina officially adopted in 1813. The original was long, and much of it was pointedly hostile toward Spain, reflecting the country’s active war for independence at the time.That changed in 1900. With Argentina’s relationship with Spain long since normalised, and a large Spanish immigrant population by then settled in the country, President Julio Roca signed a decree trimming the anthem down to just its opening verse and closing coda, cutting out t