England face Argentina in biggest match since 1966 World Cup final

England have the chance to take a giant stride towards immortality when they face Argentina in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, in what is being described as 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 in Russia eight years ago — but this latest edition reignites an old rivalry, adding layers of history and controversial sub-plots. England 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 opportunity to write themselves into legend by reaching the country's first men's World Cup final in 60 years.

The scale of global interest in this chapter was illustrated by the fact that it was standing room only at Tuchel's pre-match media briefing, even though it was moved to a bigger venue. 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.

England's recent tournament record: nearly but not quite

England's recent record in major tournaments is good — but not good enough. The 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. 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 — the Three Lions were once again gripped by inertia after Luke Shaw scored in the second minute, and they lost on penalties to Italy. This 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.

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: 'We want to take the next step'

Tuchel said: "We now want to squeeze the last bit out. We want to take the next step. I really like the energy in our camp. The players are very excited, very ambitious. That's exactly what we need for this game."

Six decades of controversy

What makes a World Cup semi-final with Argentina different from the meetings with West Germany in 1990 and Croatia in 2018 is the history of sporting antipathy and controversy between the two teams, stretching back to 1966. Their quarter-final at Wembley on a sun-kissed Saturday afternoon 60 years ago is best remembered for the sending off of Argentina's brilliant but temperamental captain Antonio Rattin, which threatened to spark a walk-off by his team-mates.

England v Argentina
Fifa World Cup 2026 semi-final
15 July, 20:00 BST
Watch live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer (UHD coverage available) from 19:00 BST.
Listen to build-up and full match commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds from 18:00 BST.
Follow TV and radio coverage, plus live text updates, in-play video clips, post-match highlights and analysis on the BBC Sport website and app.