Argentina and England will face off for a spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final, in what will be the first competitive match between the two men’s teams in over two decades.
Interestingly, it will also be the first time Lionel Messi will play against the Three Lions for the first time.
The last time Argentina and England — men’s teams — played in a competitive clash was in 2002, in the FIFA World Cup.
David Beckham powered home a penalty to end 16 years of World Cup misery for England against Argentina on Friday as Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men rekindled their title chances with a 1-0 victory.
The England captain, whose World Cup appearance was in doubt because of a broken foot, struck a minute before half-time in what was another action-packed confrontation between two teams who have fought out epic games in World Cup history.
After the famous Argentine victories in 1986 and ‘98, this time it was England’s turn to triumph after Michael Owen had been felled just inside the penalty area and Beckham drove the penalty past “keeper Pablo Cavallero.
Owen hit the post and also shot across the face of the goal, while Argentina turned the indoor Sapporo Bowl into a pressure cooker in the final 20 minutes with a flurry of attacks. But England survived and now the Group F standings don’t look good at all for Marcelo Bielsa’s team.
Judging by the noise level and the number of fans, it appeared that England was the home team despite playing 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles) from home. The 42,500-capacity Sapporo Dome was at least two-thirds blazed in red and white, while small pockets of Argentina fans banged their drums and waved their sky blue and white scarves in the other parts of the stadium.
Beckham places the ball prior to taking the penalty shot against Argentina during their World Cup match in Sapporo. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Yet, it was Argentina that created the first chances of the game by opening up the English defence with ease. Javier Zanetti forced veteran England ‘keeper David Seaman into making a diving save and Kily Gonzalez fired over the top from a Juan Sorin back pass.
England’s first shot fell to fullback Danny Mills, while Beckham was allowed his first trademark free kick of this World Cup after a foul on him by Gabriel Batistuta, who had already been shown the yellow card for crude challenges on Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole.
Beckham’s 35-metre kick beat the wall but struck another Argentine defender in the penalty box. The game appeared to be headed for a scoreless halftime until a long ball sent Ashley Cole charging towards the left corner flag.
Owen was the only support and, when help arrived, the chance seemed to have gone when his cross was cleared. But the ball was worked back to the Liverpool striker and he was tripped by Mauricio Pochettino just inside the area. Italian referee Pierluigi Collina pointed to the spot, and Beckham blasted the spot-kick into the back of the net.
Argentina came out for the second half without star midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron. His replacement, Pablo Aimar, forced Seaman into another save barely 30 seconds after entering the game.
Bielsa sent on Hernan Crespo for the struggling Batistuta and Claudio Lopez for Gonzalez, and it was from that point that his team started to turn up the heat. A well-worked Argentina move opened up the England defence, but Aimar fired too high, and Mauricio Pochettino twice went close with headers, the first flying wide of the post and the second getting blocked on the line by Seaman.
The above report is an excerpt from the report published in The Hindu on June 8, 2022.
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Published on Jul 15, 2026