CORNERFLICK
Argentina’s semi-final against England has already been dragged into familiar World Cup territory, with the build-up fuelled by old wounds, fresh comments and a nod to 1986.
Joe Cole caused a stir on a television punditry panel with Gary Lineker and Micah Richards when he said England should “put Messi to sleep”, a phrase that Richards immediately pushed back on. Cole then repeated that England would beat Argentina and reach the final. Lionel Scaloni had earlier tried to play down the fixture, calling it “just a football match” after Argentina beat Switzerland.
Gary Neville also weighed in on Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez, describing them as a centre-back pair who can give away chances, score goals and win aerial duels in the same game. He called them the “best-worst” defensive partnership in the world.
Argentina have also been celebrating with supporters after their win over Switzerland, singing a long-standing chant aimed at England. The team will wear blue against England, the same colour they wore in the 1986 quarter-final, when Diego Maradona scored with the “Hand of God” and then produced one of the great World Cup goals.