England’s Jude Bellingham laughed off aggression from Argentina’s Leandro Paredes following a heated start to their World Cup semi-final in Atlanta.
The opening 20 minutes of the semi-final were littered with fouls, following a big build-up to the resumption of England and Argentina’s storied rivalry.
England’s Elliot Anderson was on the receiving end of several fouls in the opening stages and was involved in a tangle with Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez.
Giuliano Simeone, son of Diego Simeone, who got David Beckham sent off in 1998, also went down after a slight push from England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Argentina’s players also looked to antagonise England’s players off the ball and Bellingham found himself in the middle of a flare-up within the first few minutes.
Then, following a fair challenge from defensive midfielder Paredes, the Argentina man appeared to have words for Bellingham during the stoppage in play.
Bellingham’s response was to laugh off the apparent aggression, however, with the semi-final goalless midway through the first half.
There were 11 fouls in the first 24 minutes, with referee Ismail Elfath showing no yellow cards.
England’s national anthem was drowned out by Argentinian boos and chants before Three Lions fans repaid the gesture as tensions boiled over before their seismic World Cup semi-final even kicked off.
Sharing a storied footballing rivalry, this last-four clash also has a sharp historical edge to it, with conflict over the Falkland Islands forming part of the narrative going into the match in Atlanta.
Argentina invaded the British Overseas Territory in 1982 but emphatically lost the Falklands War in 74 days, which claimed the lives of 907 people: 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 from Britain and three Falkland Islanders.
Argentina still vehemently believe that the archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, which sits 300 miles away from its east coast, should be under its sovereignty, with the cause enshrined in much of the country’s culture, including its football.
As the players lined up around the centre-circle for the national anthems, Argentina fans were deafening with their chants of “whoever doesn't jump is English”, before heavily booing “God Save the King”.
England fans responded in toe by jeering Argentina’s anthem, setting the tone for the feisty semi-final that was being anticipated.
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