Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said he will not mix football with politics ahead of his side’s World Cup semi-final against England in Atlanta on Wednesday.

The two nations will resume one of international football’s most famous rivalries at the Atlanta Stadium as England look to beat the reigning champions and reach their first World Cup final since 1966.

Their rivalry on the field has been intensified by political disputes abroad, with Britain and Argentina fighting the Falkland Islands War in 1982, a 74-day conflict that resulted in the deaths of 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 British combatants and three civilians.

The British overseas territory, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas, remains the subject of a sovereignty dispute between the two countries.

“The reality is that this is a football match. I cannot confuse things, especially out of respect for what happened so many years ago,” Scaloni said.

“It was a very sad period in our history and there is not much we can do about it, that is the reality.

Things are happening in other countries in the world and we criticize it. Of course we remember those people. But we shouldn’t confuse the two,” he said.

Scaloni, who led Argentina to World Cup glory four years ago, says he is not worried about his team’s form before the match against England.

“A month and a half ago I would have accepted to go to the semi-finals You offered me that, so I don’t care how we got here,” Scaloni said.

“I can’t blame my players. I don’t care if we’re tired or not. This is a World Cup semi-final.” The World Cup, writes Euronews.al.

“They are two excellent players, among the best in the world. Every coach would like to have them,” he said.

Source: prizrenpost