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The Argentina team that will face England on Wednesday in the World Cup semifinals features a substantial number of players who stand out in the most prestigious domestic league on the planet.
From goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, to center-backs Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez, to midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernández, a good portion of the reigning world champions are seasoned in Premier League clubs.
It is another additive for this classic match between national teams in Atlanta, loaded with aspects that fuel expectations.
The current moment brings them together with three of the top five scorers of the current tournament: Argentine captain Lionel Messi (8 goals) against Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham (6 each). Additionally, it will be the first time that Messi faces England in either an official match or a friendly.
The past has a record of five encounters in World Cups, with three victories for the English (1962, 1966, and 2002), one for the Argentines (1986), and a draw (1998) that was decided in a penalty shootout won by the Albicelestes in the round of 16.
And, obviously, the 2-1 Argentine victory in the quarterfinals of Mexico 1986 is the one that provides the most impactful memories, due to the Hand of God goal and the Goal of the Century, both the work of the mythical Diego Maradona.
“It’s a special match because of the past, because of Diego, because of the hand goal; it became a very big classic,” commented Emiliano Martínez. “It’s going to be nice, it’s going to be a special match. We just need to prepare in the best way possible and give our soul in that match. I am totally sure that I will respond in that game.”
When "Dibu" takes the field, he will surpass Ubaldo Fillol—the 1978 world champion—as the Argentine goalkeeper with the most matches played in World Cup history. Right now, they are tied at 13 appearances.
El brillo argentino en la Premier
After nearly a decade bouncing between clubs in England and Spain, Martínez settled as a starter at Aston Villa, which opened the doors to him becoming the starter for the national team just in the series of recent consecrations that include the 2022 World Cup and the 2021 and 2024 editions of the Copa América.
Martínez comes from a season in which his Birmingham-based club—of which Prince William is a fan—finished fourth in the Premier League and was crowned champion of the Europa League, its first major continental title since 1982.
Other mainstays in manager Lionel Scaloni’s lineups are top-tier protagonists in England.
“Cuti” Romero is the current captain of Tottenham and was crowned champion of the Europa League in 2024; Mac Allister won the Premier League with Liverpool in the 2024–25 season; Lisandro Martínez holds a pair of titles in domestic cups with Manchester United, and Enzo Fernández hoisted the trophy for the first edition of the Club World Cup with Chelsea last year.
Called up at the last minute due to an injury, backup defender Marco Senesi just signed with Tottenham after a good season that led Bournemouth to secure a ticket to play in the next edition of the Europa League. Senesi is dating Kelci Rose, an English player for the Bournemouth women's team who has worn the Argentine jersey over the last month in the United States.
There are also other players who had successful previous spells in the Premier League, such as forward Julián Álvarez and Nicolás Otamendi under the direction of Pep Guardiola at City.
Las Malvinas: “No hay que mezclar”
These actors did not hesitate to distance themselves when the 1982 war between the nations over islands in the Atlantic, known as the Malvinas by Argentina and the Falklands by the United Kingdom, was immediately mentioned. The war lasted for 74 days until it ended with Argentina’s surrender.
“It’s just a match. We shouldn’t confuse things with football,” Romero said. “We hope to reach the final. We are going to leave our lives on the field.”
Mac Allister, who has been based in England for six years, expressed the same sentiment.
“We understand everything behind it, all the rivalry that exists because of what happened and the history,” he stated. “Obviously, at the same time, we understand that it is not the fault of their people or ours, but of those higher up, so there is no need to mix it up.”
Perhaps Silvina Riela, Mac Allister’s mother, better portrayed how it is experienced in a recent interview with Argentina’s Radio Mitre, with a reaction to one of the songs that Albiceleste fans chant the most.
“We have been taken in by a country that treated us in the best way,” Riela said. “My granddaughter was born in England. So when everyone sings ‘whoever doesn't jump is English,’ I stay seated with her. I cannot say the same. In that sense, I don’t join in that.”
[Publicidad]