Argentina vs England: The FIFA World Cup semi-final is not just a fight on football field

Argentina and England will renew one of football’s fiercest international rivalries in Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal, battling on the field while a decades-long territorial dispute gains fresh fervor off of it.

The sixth-ever World Cup match between Argentina and the Three Lions is perhaps the most anticipated since 1986, when Diego Maradona’s “hand of God” goal eliminated England four years after a brief but brutal war over the Falkland Islands claimed 900 lives.

Also Read: England face might of Messi's Argentina in World Cup semi-final


For most of his presidency, Javier Milei has sought to tone down rhetoric around the British-controlled archipelago off the Argentine coast, avoiding the flag-waving promises to take them that his leftist predecessors regularly made.

But the match has thrust the issue into the spotlight at a time when hopes for improved ties have begun to fade, amid Milei’s appointment of a new foreign minister, the prospect of oil in the Falklands and recent suggestions that Donald Trump’s administration may reconsider US support for the UK’s claims to the islands.

On Saturday, ahead of Argentina’s quarterfinal victory over Switzerland, Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno penned a newspaper column reiterating his nation’s claims to the islands known there as Islas Malvinas.

Calling the issue a “daily concern,” Quirno cited recent calls from the Organization of American States and the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization for the UK to resume negotiations with Argentina over the sovereignty of the islands. He also rejected the idea that a 2013 referendum in which Falklands residents voted to remain a British territory held legal effect, calling it a “trap."

Also Read: Falkland Islands: Trump has ignited another geopolitical dispute

It was a break from the sense that relations had improved since Milei took office in 2023. The libertarian once referred to Margaret Thatcher, who served as prime minister during the Falklands War, as one of the “the great leaders in the history of humanity.”

In 2024, his government reached a deal with London to identify Argentine soldiers, organize trips for families to visit their graves and resume weekly direct flights to the islands.

Even before the column, however, Quirno’s October appointment had begun to affect cooperation.

“There was a political shift when they brought in their new foreign minister, from seeking cooperation with the UK towards a more Malvinista point of view,” said Ben Judah, visiting fellow at Chatham House and former adviser to former UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. “The agreement we signed was effectively ditched, and the administration became less open to cooperation with Britain.”

Part of Quirno’s concern has been the advancement of an offshore oil project in the Falklands, according to a person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity to discuss internal matters. Quirno didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In December, two foreign companies moved forward with plans to develop the Sea Lion oil field, a decision that led Argentina to argue that any unilateral exploration in disputed territory violates UN resolutions. The move also elicited rare criticism from Milei

British diplomats were then spooked by the April leak of a Pentagon memo suggesting the Trump administration would review the Falklands’ status as punishment for the UK’s lack of support for the war in Iran.

The Pentagon official who’d authored the memo met with Argentina’s defense minister two months prior at the Munich Security Conference; Milei, after the leak, said he was doing everything “humanly possible” to bring the islands under Argentine control.

British diplomats sought assurances from the US in response, and quickly received them from the State Department. But they have continued to closely monitor the rhetoric coming from Buenos Aires, according to one.

‘It’s a Football Game’
Ahead of the semifinal, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper urged fans to focus on the match itself, while figures on both sides of the Atlantic downplayed the political significance of the match.

“I know there’s a lot of focus suddenly on all of these things again because of the football match. But we should concentrate on the football match, that’s what’s important this week, and not get distracted about things that simply have not changed and are not going to change,” she told LBC.

Argentina, led by superstar Lionel Messi, will don blue shirts in homage to Maradona’s 1986 win instead of its traditional white and blue stripes. To coach Lionel Scaloni, the match carries little weight beyond its sporting consequence, particularly Argentina’s efforts to secure a second title for Messi in what’s likely his final World Cup.

“It’s a football game and that’s all,” Scaloni told reporters.

Gary Lineker, the English star who played in the “hand of God” match against Maradona, struck a similar tone in response to criticism for using “Malvinas” to refer to the islands this week.

“I honestly think they’ll want to beat us because they want to win the World Cup, and I think we want to beat them because we want to win the World Cup,” Lineker said on an episode of The News Agents podcast. “Not to prove some point 40 odd years on.”

The political rhetoric from Argentina, meanwhile, is in line with a long history of Argentine leaders tapping into the Falklands fervor to drum up support at home. Milei’s government has ramped it up at a time when his approval is sagging thanks to corruption scandals and other domestic issues.

“I don’t see this football match becoming a major diplomatic flash point,” Judah said. “But it is symptomatic of the way the Milei presidency has turned out to be a missed opportunity for the UK and Argentina to reset their relationship.”