Compiled by David AFOLABI
1962 – First round in Rancagua, Chile
England won 3-1 in a match that had none of the controversy of subsequent meetings between the two sides. They went on to reach the quarter-finals while Argentina exited in the first round.
1966 – Quarter-final at Wembley, England
A bad-tempered affair marred by some vicious challenges by Argentina, who had captain Antonio Rattin sent off for dissent. Rattin took almost 10 minutes to leave the pitch.The South Americans defended in numbers and made it difficult for England before Geoff Hurst scored in a 1-0 win.England boss Alf Ramsey was so incensed by Argentina’s tactics that he branded the visiting team “animals”, barring his players from swapping shirts with their opponents.Rattin died on Saturday at the age of 89, on the day England and Argentina qualified for the semi-finals of the 2026 tournament.
1986 – Quarter-final in Mexico City
The match at the Estadio Azteca is remembered for Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal. Maradona punched the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton to give the South Americans a 1-0 lead. But there was no controversy about Maradona’s second goal — arguably the greatest in World Cup history.He collected the ball near the halfway line and skipped past several desperate England tackles before tucking the ball past Shilton.Gary Lineker pulled a goal back but Argentina held on for a 2-1 victory and went on to win the tournament for a second time.
1998 – Second round in St Etienne, France
Michael Owen scored a wonder goal and David Beckham was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone in a dramatic encounter. Simeone would admit years later he had done everything in his power to provoke Beckham.Despite being reduced to 10 men early in the second half, England managed to hold on and might have snatched a sensational victory if Sol Campbell’s late header had not been disallowed.The match went to penalties and David Batty’s miss confirmed England’s exit.
2002 – Group stage in Sapporo, Japan
Beckham got a measure of revenge for his red card four years earlier when he scored a 44th-minute penalty that settled a tense affair 1-0 in England’s favour.The defeat deepened problems for an Argentina side featuring Simeone, Juan Sebastian Veron and Gabriel Batistuta, who crashed out in the group phase.England would go on to exit at the hands of Brazil in the quarter-finals.
