Argentina’s football association has created a new national day to commemorate their World Cup semi-final win over England, cementing the fixture’s place in the country’s sporting history.
New date on the calendar
The Argentine Football Association announced that 15 July will be designated ‘National Football Teams Day’ to mark Argentina’s 2026 World Cup semi-final victory over England on that date.
England had been bidding for their first World Cup final since 1966. In a tense contest in Atlanta, Anthony Gordon put England ahead with a finish in the 55th minute. Thomas Tuchel’s side then sat deep, but Argentina struck in the 85th and 92nd minutes to secure a 2-1 win.
The victory arrived 40 years after Argentina’s previous notable World Cup win over England, in the controversial quarter-final at the 1986 tournament.
Political tensions resurface
Political tensions surrounding the fixture were fuelled after some Argentina players celebrated whilst holding a banner reading ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’, which translates as ‘The Falklands are Argentine’.
The Falklands, a British Overseas Territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean, remain the subject of a sovereignty dispute between the UK and Argentina. Argentina, ruled at the time by a military junta led by General Leopoldo Galtieri, invaded the islands, situated 300 miles off Argentina’s east coast, in 1982.
The conflict, which lasted 74 days between April and June 1982, led to the deaths of 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen. Three people from the islands also died. In a 2013 referendum, 99.8% of Falkland Islanders voted to remain a UK territory.
Argentina went on to lose 1-0 to Spain in the 2026 final, whilst England beat France 6-4 to claim third place.
