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England v Argentina, Atlanta Stadium, Wednesday 20:00 BST
What to watch out for: It will be England’s second World Cup semi-final after 2018, but defending champions Argentina stand in the way of the Three Lions in their first final in 60 years.
It was a fixture full of emotion and rivalry – coming 40 years after Diego Maradona almost single-handedly eliminated England in the quarter-finals in Mexico.
This time, another superstar is ranked number 10 in Argentina. Lionel Messi has never faced EnglandAnd what a bigger stage than a World Cup semi-final for the first time.
Messi, who became the World Cup’s all-time top scorer at the tournament, is currently eight goals ahead of France’s Kylian Mbappe in the Golden Boot race.
But England has its own iconic 10 inches Jude Bellinghamwho has scored twice in each of their last two knockout games – the first player to achieve such a feat since Maradona in 1986 – while captain Harry Kane is level with his team-mate on six goals so far this summer.
No country has reached their free-flowing peak so far in this World Cup, battling through the knockout stages and winning to reach this point.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Wednesday’s meeting reduced to a passionate battle of wills, even if Thomas Tuchel demands more value from his sideshow They are looking for a quarter-final win against Norway.
Key Statistics: England have reached the semi-finals of four major tournaments since 2018 – the most they had reached in their history before the 2018 World Cup.
The Three Lions have won four consecutive World Cups, their longest streak in a single edition since 1966.
Tuchel is only the second England manager to go unbeaten in his first six World Cups in charge – the previous being Alf Ramsey in 1966, who achieved the same record after six matches (five wins, one draw).
2014, 2022, 2026 – 2014, 2022, 2026 – Argentina reached the last four of the World Cup for the third time in the last four editions. Prior to 2014, they had not reached the semi-finals since 1990
How to follow: Watch on BBC One and iPlayer, listen to full Radio 5 live commentary on BBC Sound and follow live text updates on the BBC Sport website and app.
