The Argentinian press has accused England of showing their national team "no respect" ahead of Wednesday's World Cup semi-final, following comments made by former England players Ian Wright and Joe Cole.
The remarks, which suggested a lack of fear towards Argentina and confidence in neutralizing star player Lionel Messi, have ignited controversy in Buenos Aires. The front page of Ole, a prominent Argentinian publication, declared "England is downplaying us – respect the pecking order," accusing the English press and former players of underestimating the Argentinian side.
England is set to face Argentina for the first time in 21 years in Atlanta for a place in the final. This marks England's second semi-final appearance in three World Cups. Following their quarter-final victory over Norway, Thomas Tuchel's team has been backed to defeat the reigning champions.
Joe Cole suggested that England's defense could "put to sleep" Lionel Messi, who is currently the tournament's joint top scorer. Ian Wright stated that he "doesn't fear" Argentina, believing England has a strong chance to reach the final for the first time in 60 years. Wright commented, "I don't fear Argentina like I'd fear France or Spain, because I think there are a lot of fallacies with them."
Argentina has won the World Cup three times since England's last triumph 60 years ago and has eliminated England twice in previous tournaments. Most notably, Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal was a key moment in Argentina's 2-1 victory in a 1986 quarter-final. In 1998, England suffered a penalty shootout loss to Argentina in the Round of 16.
Concerns have been raised about Argentina's defense, with former player Gary Neville noting that the pairing of Lisandro Martinez and Cristian Romero "seem to give a goal away between them every single game." However, he also acknowledged their ability to score and perform under pressure, calling them "the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world."
Lionel Messi, in what is likely his final World Cup, has scored eight goals in six games. Cole expressed confidence that England's center-back pairing of Marc Guehi and John Stones can manage Messi, stating, "We're going to have to put him to sleep. We're going to put him to sleep."
The match is anticipated to be intense, especially after Argentinian players were filmed singing about beating England "for the Falklands." This chant followed their 3-1 victory over Switzerland, a match that also drew criticism regarding the refereeing. Switzerland's defender Manuel Akanji stated, "Every little thing was called against us" and "I've never experienced such a one-sided game."
These controversies have fueled conspiracy theories about the tournament being fixed to favor Argentina. FIFA's chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, has defended the integrity of the referees, calling such allegations "unfounded."
England's path to the semi-finals included a victory over Norway, secured by two goals from Jude Bellingham. England manager Thomas Tuchel's post-match comment that his players were "lucky" drew a surprised reaction from Bellingham, who suggested the manager might not fully understand the pressure of playing at that level. Bellingham defended his team's performance, stating, "You're not going to win every game popping the ball and making a thousand passes, sometimes you have to win dirty and we did that again tonight."