England and Argentina set to rekindle their intense feud in World Cup last-four showdown

On Wednesday, England and Argentina will clash in a highly anticipated World Cup semi-final, fueled by decades of intense rivalry, after they overcame Norway and Switzerland respectively in the quarter-finals.

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Their upcoming match is crucial for Argentina, as a win is necessary to keep their hopes alive of becoming the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil achieved this feat in 1962, with Lionel Messi leading the charge.

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For England, a victory is essential to end their 60-year wait for a major trophy, with Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane being the key players who will drive their team's success.

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The winner of the England-Argentina match will proceed to the final on July 19, where they will face the winner of the semi-final between France and Spain, which is scheduled to take place in Texas on Tuesday.

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The Argentina-England match is a rematch of their 1986 World Cup quarter-final encounter in Mexico, which took place 40 years ago and ended in a 2-1 victory for Argentina, with Diego Maradona scoring two iconic goals.

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Messi will be playing his 206th match for Argentina, but it will be his first-ever match against England, adding to the significance of the upcoming semi-final.

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The match will also be played against the backdrop of a longstanding sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas in Spanish, which has been a point of contention between the two nations since Britain sent a military taskforce to reclaim the islands in 1982.

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After Argentina's 3-1 win over Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday, courtesy of extra-time goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez, coach Lionel Scaloni attempted to downplay the political aspect of the upcoming match, stating that it is simply a football game.

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Scaloni emphasized that the focus should be on the sport, 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."

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England coach Thomas Tuchel, on the other hand, was unhappy with his team's performance after they needed extra-time to defeat Norway 2-1 in Miami, with Jude Bellingham scoring two goals to send England to the semi-finals for only the fourth time in history.

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Tuchel expressed that his team would need to significantly improve if they were to have any chance of reaching the final, citing that they made life difficult for themselves and were "very lucky" to have secured the win.

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Norway's Andreas Schjelderup put his team ahead with a rasping shot from the left in the 36th minute, but England equalized in first-half stoppage time when Bellingham scored after an attack initiated by a goal kick from Norway's Orjan Nyland that appeared to hit an overhead camera cable.

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Norway's players protested the goal, but it stood, and Bellingham later scored the winner in extra-time, while Norway also had a goal disallowed, leaving coach Stale Solbakken to lament the unfortunate turn of events.

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FIFA later stated that there was "no evidence" the ball had hit the cable before England's first goal, but Solbakken remained adamant that it had, saying "The ball fell straight down from the sky, so it changed its direction."

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Erling Haaland, Norway's star forward, reflected on his team's performance, saying that it had inspired a new generation, and that "How we put Norway on the map is maybe one thing that touches me the most," as he looked to the future of Norwegian football.