​Why England and Argentina hate each other in one of soccer’s most heated rivalries originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Entering Wednesday, it had been over 20 years since England and Argentina even played a match against one another. But even with a lack of recent matchups, the countries looked like bitter rivals at the 2026 World Cup.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFacing off in the semifinals, with Argentina still seeking to secure back-to-back tournament trophies and England seeking to break its 60-year World Cup title drought, tensions were high very quickly.With constant physicality and fouls, including six in the opening 10 minutes on Wednesday, it was evident: England and Argentina are not teams that like each other very much. But why?Here’s what to know about the reasoning behind any bad blood between Argentina and England.2026 WORLD CUP HQ:Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup ticketsPrior to the 2026 World Cup semifinals, England and Argentina last met on the pitch in a 2005 friendly — and the last meaningful matchup between the countries came in the 2002 World Cup. But even without many clashes in the 21st century, the two teams have their reasons to dislike the other, even for reasons beyond soccer.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEven with the lack of significant matchups since 2000, when England and Argentina have met in their respective histories, they’ve often come with high stakes and plenty of drama.Wednesday’s match marked the sixth World Cup meeting between the countries all-time. The first came in 1962, which was a rather uneventful 3-1 win for England.It was in the 1966 World Cup quarterfinals where the rivalry truly began — Argentina’s captain, Antonio Rattin, was sent off in the first half for a lunge at Bobby Charlton. He attempted to dispute that decision to the referee for several minutes, saying he could not understand West German referee Rudolf Kreitlein, and only left the pitch with a police escort. Rattin also sat on a red carpet reserved for Queen Elizabeth II in protest.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEngland got a score from Geoff Hurst, enough for a 1-0 victory before going on to win the 1966 World Cup — but after the game, England manager Alf Ramsay described Argentina’s players as “animals,” only adding more tension.”It was probably the nastiest and toughest game we experienced at a time when we talk about what was a rough time in English football — quite violent to an extent — that that game against Argentina was probably one of the nastiest games we’ve all played in,” Hurst said, per ESPN. “But I think the use of ‘animals’ was a poor word. You can say dirty, nasty, vicious, whatever, but I think the word ‘animals’ wasn’t particularly appropriate. He [Ramsay] did get his knuckles rapped for that.”MORE: Revisiting the infamous Diego Maradona ‘Hand of God’ gameBy the 1986 World Cup,