​London — The semifinal clash between England and Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Wednesday saw two bitter rivals face off in one of the most emotionally charged matches of the tournament.The contest saw Lionel Messi, considered by many to be one of the best soccer players in the world, play against England for the first time in his long and storied career — and rack up a win, with 2-1 victory sending Argentina to the final. On the other side were England’s all-time top goal scorer Harry Kane, and one of the stars of the tournament, Jude Bellingham.Argentina fans gather a day ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal match against England, July 14, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia, with flags bearing the Falklands/Malvinas islands. / Credit: Patrick Smith/FIFA/GettyPrevious matches between the two countries have produced some of the sport’s most iconic moments. But this rivalry goes well beyond the soccer field.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDiplomatic relations between England and Argentina remain strained to this day over two small islands off Argentina’s Atlantic coast. To the U.K., they are the Falklands, but Argentina calls them the Malvinas.In the 18th century, France, Spain and Britain all tried to lay claim to the islands, establishing early colonial settlements. France agreed to leave the islands in 1766, leaving Spanish settlers to force out the British, who withdrew in 1774.The Spanish then left in the early 19th century, leaving a newly independent government in Buenos Aires to claim the islands 300 miles off the country’s coast as Argentina’s own.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe sovereignty dispute reignited in 1833, however, when British forces arrived to reclaim the islands, expelling the Argentinian population and replacing it with Britons.In 1982, an Argentinian military junta launched an attack on the islands and quickly captured the territory, sparking a 10-week war that killed 907 people, more than a third of whom were Argentinian sailors on the ARA General Belgrano cruiser that was sunk by a British submarine in a highly controversial attack.Wrapped in an Argentine flag with a picture of the cruiser General Belgrano, the mother of Sixto Javier Fajardo, who was killed during the conflict, kisses a plaque bearing his name during a ceremony on June 14, 2007, in Buenos Aires. / Credit: DANIEL GARCIA/AFP/GettyFacing superior military force, Argentina surrendered the islands, which remain dominated more than three decades later by a British population.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLas Malvinas remain a bitter point of contention for the South American nation.Only four years after the conflict, Argentina and England faced off in a World Cup quarterfinal in Mexico City’s gargantuan Azteca Stadium, which was packed with 114,000 people.Early in the second half, the ball looped fortuitously to Diego Maradona, one of the sport’s greatest players of all time, who leapt into the air and hit the ball with h