The United Kingdom and Argentina have had close footballing ties since the invention of the modern game – it was a Scot, Alexander Watson Hutton, who first brought a formalised kick-about to children he was teaching in a school in Buenos Aires.
Think of the names of some of the country’s oldest clubs: River Plate, Boca Juniors, Newell’s Old Boys (named for Englishman Isaac Newell) have, like some Serie A sides, a continuing nod to their British or English-inflected origins.
In terms of competitive matches however, things have been a little less friendly.
Argentina legend Antonio Rattin was handed a legendary sending-off when the two teams met in 1966, with his home press publishing a picture of mascot World Cup Willie dressed as a pirate after Alf Ramsey told his XI not to swap shirts with the visitors and referred to them as ‘animals’.
Then came 1986 – and this won’t be the last reference to that formative fixture on this live blog, I’d bet.
At the 1998 World Cup, David Beckham was memorably ensnared by that most-mischievous of player-managers, Diego Simeone, with his red card turning him into a national villain for almost the whole Premier League season to come.
One bright spot for England? Their 1-0 victory at the 2002 World Cup, with Beckham completing his redemption arc with the winning penalty kick. Defeat was so beyond the pale for Argentina that captain Juan Sebastian Veron was accused of tanking his own performance.
