England v Argentina | World Cup Semi Final | 15 July 2026

Leroy Ambrose said:

Leuth said:

se9addick said:

Surely people don’t actually hate Argentina? 

I think there's a divide between people who can remember the 1980s and people who can't 

I can remember the 80s. I grew up in them. I'm just not tragic enough to hate an entire nation of people for something that happened as a result of political sabre rattling that got out of hand and ended up with a load of people killed as a result. I didn't grow up hating Germans in the 80s, and the second world war was the same amount of time ago then as the Falklands were to now.

They do have an uncanny ability to turn out proper muggy little c**ts for footballers though... 

swords_alive said:

I'm assuming a bent over position already in the hope it hurts less.

Does feel like we've lost this one already. Kane and Rice won't have much if anything left in the tank. The subs did well against Norway but that won't be enough. As long as ours run around, no red cards and aren't smiling by the end that'll do. Exit the competition with honour.

Carter said:

Some of you are either serious wet blankets or a lot more emotionally accepting of a nation represented by some real scumbags with a very questionable attitude to a lot of things (not steak, horses or rock music, they embrace those things absolutely fine) 

Give me Terry Butcher over Maradona any day of the week. They revel in their manky tactics and shitfisting, and I'm sorry but the Falklands does come into it, as someone else said. They conscripted under-equipped and poorly trained boys to go and fight an unnecessary war of vanity and cost so many lives and permanently damaged thousands more. 

Always been a dirty, horrible international team and I remphasise. I hope we take their souls and leave Messi crying like a baby 

DamoNorthStand said:

Well this stunt by a Scottish pub has backfired somewhat - as both Scottish and English folk have reminded them of the significant number of Scottish servicemen who lost their lives for their country.

What a bunch of fucking idiots 

Billy_Mix said:

usetobunkin said:

Ref no longer a problem

Couldn't rely on her, she'd be waiting for Rupert Murdoch to tell her what to do.

charente addick said:

ValleyGary said:

charente addick said:

DamoNorthStand said:

Well this stunt by a Scottish pub has backfired somewhat - as both Scottish and English folk have reminded them of the significant number of Scottish servicemen who lost their lives for their country.

What a bunch of fucking idiots 

Bit of a pious reaction tbh to what is clearly intended to be light football banter.

Just dead banter now tho. Wasn’t really that funny to begin with and I thought the Scottish had excellent ‘patter’

Whether the humour ‘works’ or not is neither here nor there. The intent is clearly not meant to be disrespectful to deceased and injured soldiers and should be seen as such and not connected to a war.

In the last 10 years I’ve visited Argentina twice. I love the country and the people in it. Am I wrong to do so?!

Chizz said:

ValleyLocal said:

fenaddick said:

ValleyLocal said:

Neil_Heaney said:

fenaddick said:

ValleyLocal said:

fenaddick said:

AllHailTheHen said:

The Maradona hand ball being the single greatest act of cheating at a world cup and somehow being accepted by the Argies as the hand of God is something i'll never be able to get past. Add to that Batistuta's nodding at Beck's red card and the general shit housing that their team is allowed to get away with. I hope we crush them.

I still maintain if that had been done by an English player like Gazza he'd be praised for being cheeky and it would be an iconic thing in this country

Completely and utterly disagree.

I can hear Jimmy Hill now, saying it's just not cricket & what a terrible way to win. And most would agree. 

Genuinely think it's odd that someone can be born and raised in a country and so completely not understand it's character or mentality. 

DamoNorthStand said:

fenaddick said:

AllHailTheHen said:

The Maradona hand ball being the single greatest act of cheating at a world cup and somehow being accepted by the Argies as the hand of God is something i'll never be able to get past. Add to that Batistuta's nodding at Beck's red card and the general shit housing that their team is allowed to get away with. I hope we crush them.

I still maintain if that had been done by an English player like Gazza he'd be praised for being cheeky and it would be an iconic thing in this country

I agree with 99.9pc of what you post, but that is miles off.

1 - It wouldnt have happened in the first place - it just not how young players are raised here.
2 - Especially nowadays, they would end up getting frozen out for the rest of their career.

I think we're a nation who love a sly bit of cheating, just not in the way that the South Americans or Europeans do. We don't like diving but we love when a player goes too hard or too late into a tackle. It's why we loved Dobbo and Man Utd fans loved Roy Keane. We all want Miles Leaburn to start "using his body" aka fouling his opponent in a way the ref doesn't see. A cynical foul to stop a counter attack will get praised and most of the crowd telling the ref he's an idiot and nothing happened. Admittedly, we seem to like cheating when it makes you look hard but this idea that we're holier than thou is nonsense. 

Of course it wouldn't happen in the modern day Damo, it would be ruled out by VAR and an incredibly dumb thing to do. I don't think the modern day Argentinian's would do it either. 

I'm not saying I like cheating or like that Maradonna did it and got away with it. I just think that there are people of all nationalities and who play all sports that like to push the line in the hope of victory

Very good point this. We battered Maradona all over the park at The Azteca (rightly so) – elbows, two-footers, the lot. His response was a slight of hand to steal a goal and take revenge for his treatment and the way us Brits have meddled in his country and most others in the world over history.

Hacking players down and handball are both forms of foul play. I 'prefer' our foul play because it's how we're raised and what we're used to, but it goes both ways.

I cannot stand this Argentina side (apart from the manager who's an absolute gent) and hope we batter them, but as commented above it's a great country full of brilliant people. 

I don't think it is a good comment, because he was specifically talking about the HoG. He said we'd be happy if Gazza or someone did that. And I don't think that is true at all. In fact it's nonsense. 

And I don't think as a nation we love dirty or cynical fouls. It's why the 1970s Leeds team was widely disliked and isn't respected despite it's achievements. Even now, people call them Dirty Leeds. Wimbledon were also widely disliked, despite their fairytale rise from non-league. Wimbledon like is an insult, not praise. 

As for meddling in the affairs of Argentina, you really do need to buy a history book and a map. It is Argentina, a country formed by the ancestors of people that stole the land from the native people, that meddled with the Falklands as part of their pathetic military posturing. We should feel sorry for the poor working class lads of Argentina who were forced to fight for an island that had and has nothing to do with Argentina. And never has. 

I suggest that their current day players also read a history book and then campaign for justice for the veterans of that war, rather than sing songs about it. They've been completely brainwashed by their government. 

Just an addition to my nonsense. I think you’re right that we don’t like dirty teams but I still think we like to have a few dirty individuals in our teams

Still don't agree.

I don't think Dennis Wise or Robbie Savage are particularly revered at any of their former clubs. 

I think the Brits like hard but fair players much more. 

Roy Keane was never dirty. He committed that savage foul. But wasn't a dirty player. So is probably the closest player to what you are alluding to. But he wasn't dirty in a snide way. 

This is brilliant!