'Animals', Hand of God and Beckham - Argentina and England's World Cup rivalry

ByAndy Cryer

BBC Sport elder journalist

It's a footballing rivalry that goes backmost generations.

England v Argentina for a spot successful the World Cup final. Iconic. Generational. Classic. It's hard to find the words to bash the juncture justice.

On Wednesday successful Atlanta, Lionel Messi volition beryllium playing against England for the archetypal clip successful his vocation arsenic the defending satellite champions bid to halt Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions ending 60 years of hurt.

It's a World Cup rivalry that started backmost successful 1962 and has featured wonderment goals, contention and reddish cards ever since.

But it's not conscionable an on-field rivalry. Political tensions, particularly astir the Falklands War successful the 1980s, predominate the narration betwixt the 2 nations. Argentina players and fans inactive notation the struggle successful shot songs.

Before 1 of England's biggest matches successful history, BBC Sport takes a look backmost astatine the World Cup rivalry betwixt the 2 sides.

It whitethorn astonishment galore that of the 5 World Cup matches played betwixt the 2 sides, it is England that are connected top, but it has been a portion since they won 1 that truly mattered.

With their past World Cup gathering backmost successful 2002, galore of the countries' younger generations won't adjacent retrieve the rivalry, truthful BBC Sport revisits six decades of controversy.

A tame matter compared to what was to follow.

Goals from Ron Flowers, Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Greaves enactment England into an unassailable 3-0 lead, with a precocious consolation from Argentina.

Both sides finished the radical signifier with a win, decision and a loss, but England edged done astatine the disbursal of Argentina acknowledgment to a superior extremity difference.

The Three Lions were knocked retired by Brazil successful the quarter-finals.

Was this the infinitesimal the footballing rivalry betwixt the 2 sides truly developed? Possibly. Probably.

The 2 teams met successful the quarter-finals successful a lucifer Argentina, to this day, importune they were robbed in, claiming Geoff Hurst's winning extremity was offside.

That was conscionable the extremity of the iceberg erstwhile it came to contention though, with Argentina skipper Antonio Rattin sent disconnected aft conscionable 33 minutes for 2 offences successful the abstraction of 3 minutes.

The archetypal was for a travel connected Bobby Charlton, the 2nd was for continuing to reason with German referee Rudolf Kreitlein.

The lucifer was delayed for astir 8 minutes arsenic Rattin refused to permission the pitch.

England held on, successful an incredibly ill-tempered affair, with Three Lions brag Alf Ramsey describing the Argentine broadside arsenic 'animals' and insisting that his players did not swap shirts.

England's 1966 World Cup-winning defender George Cohen reflected connected the lucifer successful the Guardian successful 2009.

"Tackling is fine," helium said. "But it was immoderate of the snidey things, the spitting and pulling the abbreviated hairs connected your neck, pulling your ear. They were trying to intimidate us. The occupation was erstwhile they recovered retired they weren't going to get their mode they fell into immoderate of the worst excesses I've ever seen.

"I conscionable see it the top shame that they didn't play the crippled they were susceptible of. We mightiness adjacent person got beaten but they conscionable should person got connected and shown what they could do.

"There was a batch of commotion successful the passageway aft the game. Nobody was allowed retired truthful we didn't spot it."

The lucifer is besides believed to person led to the instauration of reddish and yellowish cards, which were archetypal utilized successful the 1970 World Cup successful Mexico. Previously, referees had to trust connected verbal warnings.

Rattin, who represented Argentina from 1959 to 1969 and played astatine the 1962 and 1966 World Cups, died astatine the property of 89 connected Saturday.

The Hand of God. Sigh.

This quarter-final was played conscionable 4 years aft the 2 countries had fought the Falklands War. This wasn't conscionable a shot rivalry, governmental tensions were immense arsenic well.

The Argentine media and nationalist framed the lucifer arsenic a mode to explicit their resentment astatine the conflict, portion their British counterparts besides leaned into it, utilizing nationalistic connection to heighten the animosity betwixt the countries.

BBC World Service's Lourdes Heredia, who was astatine the crippled successful the Azteca Stadium, said: "My begetter wasn't definite astir his 'princesses going'. He was disquieted that tensions betwixt Argentina and England fans would spill over. My parent didn't hesitate. A erstwhile successful a beingness opportunity."

It provided a infinitesimal nary English shot instrumentality from that epoch volition ever hide arsenic the genius that was Diego Maradona punched Argentina into the pb against England. Literally.

The Argentine fig 10 leapt for a shot with England goalkeeper Peter Shilton but, someway unnoticed, helium opted to punch the shot into the bare net. If lone VAR was astir then.

To beryllium just to Maradona, helium past scored astir apt the top World Cup extremity of each clip arsenic helium dribbled done fractional the England team, rounded Shilton and slotted location to treble Argentina's lead.

"When I lived and worked successful Argentina, radical regularly brought up the Hand of God," said Heredia. "But this is to hide that the 2nd extremity was conscionable spectacular - astir unbelievable."

Gary Lineker pulled 1 backmost precocious connected but it was to nary avail arsenic England crashed retired successful the astir arguable of circumstances

It took until 2005 for Maradona to apologise. An apology Shilton rejected,

To hitch brackish into the wound, Argentina went connected to bushed West Germany successful the last to assistance the trophy.

A lucifer David Beckham volition ne'er forget.

The crippled volition ever beryllium remembered for his footwear retired astatine Argentina's Diego Simeone and consequent reddish card.

Prior to that Gabriel Batistuta and Alan Shearer had traded penalties, earlier Michael Owen scored 1 of his country's top World Cup goals to springiness England a 2-1 lead.

Owen burst past the Argentine defence to people a spectacular solo goal, earlier a clever free-kick saw Javier Zanetti level the scores earlier the break.

After Beckham's red, England bravely hung connected and adjacent thought they had won it erstwhile Sol Campbell headed location successful the 81st minute, lone for it it to beryllium ruled retired for a push.

The lucifer went to penalties which, aft misses by David Batty and Paul Ince, Argentina prevailed in, earlier being knocked retired themselves successful the adjacent circular by the Netherlands.

To stoke the tensions successful the rivalry further, Simeone admitted a twelvemonth later: "Let's conscionable accidental the referee fell into the trap.

"It was besides a hard 1 for him to person avoided due to the fact that I went down good and successful moments similar that there's a batch of tension.

"You could accidental that my falling transformed a yellowish paper into a reddish card. But successful fact, the astir due punishment was a yellowish one."

This was the lucifer that volition beryllium remembered arsenic redemption for Beckham.

The past England skipper scored the lone extremity of the crippled from the punishment spot, aft Owen was chopped down by Mauricio Pochettino - yes, that one.

Having lone drawn with Sweden successful their opening radical game, it was a important triumph for the Three Lions.

A goalless gully for England against Nigeria successful the last lucifer saw them progress, portion Argentina - who concluded with a 1-1 gully against Sweden - were eliminated earlier the knockouts for the archetypal clip since 1962.

England went connected to bushed Denmark successful the past 16 earlier being knocked retired by Brazil - and Ronaldinho's impudent free-kick - successful the quarters.

BBC Sport's main shot newsman Phil McNulty remembers: "The futuristic Sapporo Dome was the country of redemption for Beckham and England astatine the 2002 World Cup successful Japan.

"Lingering tensions betwixt the teams successful the aftermath of Beckham's reddish paper against Argentina successful France 4 years earlier, on with a achy decision connected penalties successful the past 16, made this a highly-charged occasion.

"And it was England – led by Sven-Goran Eriksson with Marcelo Bielsa his other fig - who came retired connected apical with a 1-0 win, fittingly scored from the spot by Beckham a infinitesimal earlier half-time, contentiously awarded aft aboriginal Spurs manager Pochettino was adjudged to person fouled Owen."