​England have the chance to take a giant stride towards immortality when they face Argentina in the World Cup semi-final in their biggest match since winning the 1966 final at Wembley.The Three Lions have reached two World Cup semi-finals in the six decades since then – at Italia ’90 and then in Russia eight years ago – but this latest edition reignites an old rivalry, adding layers with history and controversial sub-plots.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEngland have lost the past two European Championship finals but, under the roof of the futuristic Atlanta Stadium, head coach Thomas Tuchel and his players have the chance to write themselves into legend by reaching the country’s first men’s World Cup final in 60 years.The fact it was standing room only at Tuchel’s pre-match media briefing, even though it was moved to a bigger venue, illustrates the scale of global interest in this chapter.Wednesday’s match (20:00 BST) is England’s latest chance to finally reach another global showpiece – a barrier that has proved insurmountable since Sir Alf Ramsey’s side lifted the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966.A special team beats brilliant individuals – how silky Spain flattened France’Extremely happy’ Deschamps gets the farewell game no-one wantsEngland’s recent record in major tournaments is good – but not good enough. Nearly but not quite.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe only currency that counts at elite level is trophies, and so far winning one has proved agonisingly beyond this England side.The journey to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals was widely regarded as a pleasant surprise, but ended badly as Sir Gareth Southgate and his side appeared frozen into conservatism after Kieran Trippier gave them the lead after five minutes against Croatia in Moscow, and they lost 2-1 after extra time.Fast forward to the delayed Euro 2020 final, held at Wembley in July 2021 having been postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.England squandered another opportunity in similar circumstances to the 2018 World Cup – the Three Lions were once again gripped by inertia after Luke Shaw scored in the second minute and they lost on penalties to Italy.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis is the same Italy side who have not even qualified for the past three World Cups. It was an opportunity missed, especially at England’s Wembley home.Sir Gareth Southgate, pictured after England’s second successive Euro final loss (against Spain in 2024) could not quite get his side over the line [Getty Images]The World Cup quarter-final loss to France in Qatar four years ago was simply a case of a good side being beaten by a better one, although the agony was compounded by a rare Harry Kane penalty miss late on.The subsequent run to the Euro 2024 final was stodgy with the occasional highlight, but culminated in a disappointing performance in the Berlin showpiece as Spain beat Southgate’s side 2-1.Tuchel said: “We now want to squeeze the last bit out. We want to take the next s