Why Argentina’s coaching staff want England revenge at the World Cup

Argentina’s coaching staff has plenty of experience of taking on England at the World Cup but they are not all happy memories.

The two rival nations meet again at the World Cup on Wednesday night, battling it out in Atlanta for the chance to face Spain in the final.

There is a lot of history between England and Argentina in the sport’s biggest tournament, going all the way back to the 1962 World Cup in Chile.

England won then and in 1966, but Argentina emerged victorious in the Hand of God clash in 1986 and the dramatic last 16 meeting in ’98.

The two countries met again in 2002, with England winning 1-0 and sending Argentina home after the group stages.

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has three men on his coaching staff that were involved on that Sapporo in Japan and will be looking for payback in Atlanta.

Walter Samuel started the game at centre-back, with Pablo Aimar coming off the bench at half-time to replace Juan Sebastian Veron.

Roberto Ayala was in the squad but injured for the match and did not feature.

However, the centre-back did play in the 1998 game, scoring from the penalty spot in the shootout.

Samuel, Aimar and Ayala are all now Scaloni’s assistants with the national team and will be looking for a dose of revenge for that painful loss thanks to a David Beckham penalty 24 years ago.

Samuel and Ayala were playing the last time the two countries met, when England won 3-2 in a friendly in Switzerland in 2005.

Scaloni did not have such a decorated career for his country as a player, but did win seven caps for Argentina between 2003-06.

The manager has played down any talk of revenge and chosen not to hype up anything surrounding the history between the countries away from sport.

Unlike Argentina’s Vice President, who called the English ‘usurping pirates’ in an inflammatory social media post.

‘It’s just a football match; let’s not make it something else,’ Scaloni said. ‘We’re playing a great team, led by a great coach who I appreciate and admire a lot. It’s just a football match, nothing else.’

Diego Maradona Jr has insisted it is not just a football match and said his father would agree with him.

‘My dad wouldn’t see it as a normal game, just another game. We can say a lot of things, but it wouldn’t be an ordinary game, nor will it be normal,’ Maradona Jr. told Marca.

‘For all Argentines and Maradona fans, it will be a special occasion. It’s one that brings to mind everything about the Falklands and all our brothers who died there, and then what happened to my dad in ’86.

‘My old man won a historic match, and since then, nothing has been normal against England.

‘It’s never going to be a normal game, and this one in particular is going to be tough for our national team.

‘It’s true that England is playing well, but watch out — they have to face and beat the world champions. It’s going to be tough… For both teams.’

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