Argentina boss opens up on Falklands rivalry ahead of England World Cup clash | Football | Sport
Lionel Scaloni wasn’t interested in being dragged into a row over the Falklands (Image: Getty)
Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni has urged his players to focus purely on the football when they face England in the World Cup semi-finals. The build-up to the fixture has reopened old wounds on both sides, with the Falkland Islands becoming a topic of conversation. Earlier in the tournament, Argentina players were filmed chanting about the islands following their victory over Egypt.
The two countries famously went to war in 1982, when Argentina invaded the Falklands over a long-standing sovereignty claim. They were quickly defeated by British forces, who successfully recaptured the islands in just 10 weeks and forced Argentina to surrender. Four decades later, many Argentinians still believe they should control the Falklands despite its population being overwhemingly in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory.
Scaloni was quizzed on the tensions over the Falklands in his press conference on Tuesday but refused to be drawn into the row, instead urging his players to remain focused on beating England.
“The reality is that this is a football match,” said the Argentina head coach. “I can’t mix things up, especially out of respect for what happened so many years ago.
“It was a very sad period in our history, and there isn’t much we can do about it, that’s the reality. It is a football match. There’s no getting around that.
“Things are happening elsewhere in the world, and we criticise the existence of war, so for me to start saying this is anything more than a football match… it seems crazy to me.
“We certainly remember those people, of course. But it is a football match, we shouldn’t confuse the two.”
The winners of the semi-final will face Spain in New Jersey this weekend after the reigning European champions defeated France on Tuesday night.
England, who have failed to win the World Cup since 1966, are bidding to reach their first final since they secured the trophy on home soil.
The islands have become a topic of conversation ahead of the semi-final (Image: Getty)
Argentina have won all six of their fixtures at this World Cup, yet there have still been criticisms regarding their approach and displays.
Scaloni fired back at his detractors, declaring: “The team isn’t playing as bad as people say. We must have done something right to reach this stage.
“I’m grateful to the players. They’ve led us to three titles and now another semi-final. We’re just one step away, and we’re going to give it our all to get there.
“I don’t care how we’re feeling. We’re in a World Cup semi-final. A month and a half ago, I would’ve signed up for this without hesitation.
“We’re incredibly excited, so it doesn’t matter whether we’re tired or not. The goal was to get here by any means necessary, and here we are.
“We’re doing well and we’re very excited. We’ve been talking about the things we believe we need to improve. We’re going up against a great team, and we hope we’re the ones who make it through.”
England have not faced Argentina in a competitive fixture since 2002. Their most recent encounter came in 2005, when the Three Lions claimed a 3-2 friendly victory against the South American nation.
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