Argentina Coach Scaloni Refuses to Mix Football and Politics Ahead of England World Cup Semi-Final

Atlanta. Argentina national football team head coach Lionel Scaloni said on Wednesday that he would never mix football and politics before the World Cup semi-final match against England in Atlanta. 

With this clash at the Atlanta stadium, the historic and much-discussed football rivalry between these two countries will be revived. England is aiming to reach the World Cup final for the first time since 1966 by defeating defending champions Argentina.

This fierce rivalry on the field has been further fueled by political disputes off the field. A 74-day Falklands War took place between Britain and Argentina in 1982. 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 British fighters, and three civilians lost their lives in that war. This island, a British overseas territory, is called 'Las Malvinas' in Argentina and remains a subject of sovereignty dispute between the two countries.

Speaking about this historical background, coach Scaloni clarified that this is just a football match and politics should not be mixed with it, even in honor of events that happened many years ago. He said, 'The reality is that this is a football match. I cannot mix things, especially in honor of what happened so many years ago.' 

Recalling that war as a very sad moment in their history, he added, 'That was a very sad period of our history and there is not much we can do about it, that is the reality.' Saying that wars are happening in other parts of the world and that they criticize the existence of war, he said, 'We certainly remember those people. But this is a football match, we should not confuse these two things.'

Due to the historical tension between the two nations, security arrangements in Atlanta will be very strict. After Argentina dramatically defeated Egypt 3-2 in the Round of 16, a video of Argentine players singing a song that included references to the island and the country's great footballers Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi was released.

In the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, Maradona led Argentina to victory against England with the famous 'Hand of God' and another excellent goal. On the other hand, current captain Lionel Messi is facing England for the first time in his playing career. Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi, 39, has scored 8 goals in this World Cup, the same as French striker Kylian Mbappé, and has led Argentina to the semi-finals. 

However, three-time World Cup winners Argentina have had to struggle in every knockout stage of this tournament. Apart from the tough win against Egypt, Argentina had to play extra time to defeat Cape Verde in the Round of 32 and Switzerland, who were reduced to 10 men, in the quarter-finals.

Scaloni, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar four years ago, said he was not worried about his team's performance ahead of playing England. He said, 'If someone had offered me to reach the semi-finals a month and a half ago, I would have gladly accepted. So it doesn't matter to me how we got here.' 

Saying that it doesn't matter whether his players are tired or not, he said, 'I cannot blame my players. I don't care if we are tired or not. This is a World Cup semi-final match.'

Scaloni also said that he had taught his team the best strategy to stop England's main striker Harry Kane and midfielder Jude Bellingham. Both Kane and Bellingham have scored 6 goals each in the ongoing World Cup. Speaking about them, Scaloni said, 'They are two excellent players, among the best in the world. Any coach would want to have them in their team.'