Roaring Hanna - a reader of Slugger from Belfast (Republic of Ireland) - has an article about the problems of the England team throughout history at the World Cup, titled "Don't cry for me, Argentina...":
It is a pity for our "closest and most dearest" neighbors that once again the World Cup trophy could not "return home". That is the story of this year, just like all previous years since 1966, and also 1962, 1958, 1954 & 1950 before that.
You really have to ask yourself about the psychology of the "Little Englanders", who always have a feeling of complacency and seriously believe that their team really has a chance to lift the Jules Rimet trophy?
Of course, for the rest of us in Ireland and the Scots, this 4-year tournament is a great watching experience when we hugged the long-lost "brothers and sisters" in Panama, Croatia, Ghana, Mexico and Norway when they faced championship contenders according to experts on SKY and BBC - who should have been more alert?
Their overcoming these opponents is not thanks to Messi's pure excellence, Yamal's youthful dynamism, Mbappe's strong leadership, or Vinicius Jnr's classic, tricky playing style...
No, it's just a pragmatic, resilient English football like Bournemouth against Brentford, not PSG, Real Madrid, AC Milan or Boca Juniors? They survived to the final 4 thanks to a combination of luck and strange refereeing decisions.
And even though they may not need Trump to whisper to Infantino as he did to bring about a controversial decision for the US team, "England" still slipped into the semi-finals to face a long-time rival, Argentina.
Now, although my football experience may only be limited to youth-style amateur football, I think I understand enough to realize that England will never beat Argentina?
Why would anyone with rational thinking think differently? To win the World Cup, you need to have something extremely special, like in the Champions League?
Great teams all have yellow stars on their chests to prove that. Brazil has 5 stars, Germany 4 stars, Italy 4 stars, Argentina 3 stars; while England only has a lonely star won from 1966 after a Russian biên referee made a controversial decision, recognizing a goal that had never crossed the goal line!
We have never been at peace with that story when the BBC has been broadcasting it over and over again every Christmas for the past 60 years.
For more than 40 years, the football momentum between England and Argentina has been deeply affected by the war in the Falklands/Malvinas Islands in the early 1980s.
Therefore, when Argentina and Diego Maradona faced England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, it was not just a football match. And indeed it has been remembered forever as Maradona's coronation as the best player in the world, just like how Messi affirmed that title in the current tournament.
In this year's semi-final, the little genius Messi inspired and created passes to bring victory to Argentina, leading to enthusiastic scenes in the stands and on the streets after the match.
Argentine players raised a banner right in the middle of the field affirming that the Malvinas Islands belong to Argentina. People say we should separate politics and sports, but when it comes to England and Argentina, it is impossible".
