Sixty years. That is how long England have waited for another World Cup final, and on Wednesday night in Atlanta they will be 90 minutes, or perhaps a little more, from ending it. The catch is who they must beat to get there. Argentina, the holders, chasing back-to-back titles of their own. Of all the sides England could have drawn in the last four, few carry more history, or more scar tissue.
The semi-final kicks off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday 15 July, per FOX Sports. Win it and England would reach their first final since the summer of 1966, when they lifted the trophy at Wembley and have been chasing the feeling ever since. Lose it and the wait rolls on.
What each side is playing for
The stakes are not symmetrical, and that is part of what makes it compelling.
For England, this is about a drought. Yahoo Sports notes that the country's record in World Cup semi-finals is thin, and a place in the final would be their first in 60 years. Everything about the national side's modern story, the near misses and the what-ifs, sits behind this one fixture.
For Argentina, it is about doubling down. They arrive as defending champions, winners in 2022, and a victory on Wednesday would carry them into a final with a shot at back-to-back titles. One nation is trying to end a wait. The other is trying to build a dynasty.
Both got here the hard way. England needed extra time to see off Norway, winning 2-1 with Jude Bellingham scoring twice. Argentina also went the distance, beating Switzerland 3-1 after extra time, Julian Alvarez with the decisive goal. Neither will pretend the legs are fresh.
A rivalry that never really cooled
This is the first time England and Argentina have met at a World Cup since 2002, and the gap has done nothing to dull the edge. The fixtures that made this rivalry are still the ones supporters reach for first.
Start in 1986. In the quarter-final at the Estadio Azteca, Argentina beat England 2-1 on their way to winning the trophy, and both goals belong to football's permanent memory. First the "Hand of God", Diego Maradona punching the ball past the goalkeeper. Then, minutes later, the "Goal of the Century", Maradona gliding through half the England side to score one of the finest goals the tournament has produced. One match, the sublime and the outrageous, side by side.
Then 1998. In the round of 16, Argentina knocked England out on penalties in a match remembered as much for David Beckham's red card as for the shoot-out. Another exit, another wound that took years to heal.
Two chapters, two eliminations, and enough needle to give Wednesday its charge before a ball is kicked. The overall balance of the rivalry is a matter old enough to argue about; what is not in doubt is that these meetings tend to leave a mark.
The build-up to Atlanta
For all the history, this is a fresh page. The men who will decide it were not born when Maradona danced through Mexico, and the pressure they carry is their own. Bellingham arrives in the sort of form that turns semi-finals, having dragged England past Norway almost single-handedly. Alvarez does the same for an Argentina side that knows exactly how to win these nights, because it did so barely two summers ago.
There is a question worth sitting with. England have spent 60 years learning how to lose the big ones; Argentina have spent recent memory learning how to win them. Wednesday asks whether that gap is real or merely a story we keep telling.
The teams meet at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday 15 July. A place in the final is the prize, and a 60-year wait, or the start of a dynasty, hangs on it.
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