Years of political history and football rivalry will collide in Atlanta when England face Argentina in a World Cup semifinal for the ages.

From the controversial “Hand of God” goal by Diego Maradona in 1986 to David Beckham being red-carded for kicking Diego Simeone in 1998, sporting contests between England and Argentina are often theatrical, tense and tricky.

Then, there is also the lingering sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands.

Divided by geography and conflict, England and Argentina are vastly different in many ways, yet at this World Cup, they have at least one thing in common – both have made a habit of surviving on the edge.

For England, the plan is simple: Find a way to stop the magical force of Lionel Messi and reach their first final in six decades.

And for Argentina? To grind again and chase history in back-to-back finals.

Here’s everything you need to know about this semifinal:

How did England and Argentina reach the semifinals?

England topped Group L with seven points, beating Croatia and Panama and drawing with Ghana. They needed a second-half comeback to beat the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the round of 32 and knocked out co-hosts Mexico3-2  in a scintillating last-16 contest at the iconic Azteca Stadium.

In the quarterfinals, they came from a goal down to beat Norway 2-1 in extra time.

Argentina had a strong showing in the first round, topping Group J by beating Algeria, Austria and Jordan. In the round of 32, they were pushed to their limits before squeezing past Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time, and came from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in a controversial last-16 contest which drew allegations of officiating bias.

Against Switzerland in the quarterfinals, they again played a full 120 minutes before securing a 3-1 win.

At last, Messi meets England

From winning the World Cup to Copa America, lifting the Champions League trophy to the Ballon d’Or, and kissing the Golden Ball, Messi has achieved almost everything possible in football.

But in his 21 years playing for Argentina, there is one thing he has not done: face England.

The 39-year-old forward will play against the Three Lions for the first time, 21 years on from the red card he received in the early days of his career, which denied him the chance in a 2005 friendly.

“I have played against everyone except England, and it is special because they are a major nation, a powerhouse, and it is always nice to play against a side like that, especially in a World Cup semifinal,” Messi said.

With eight goals in six matches, Messi is enjoying a World Cup campaign like no other as he bids for his first Golden Boot. As the captain, he is also leading Argentina’s charge to become the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962.

Should they beat England, Argentina would be in their third final in four World Cups, and Messi could follow in the footsteps of Brazil’s great, Cafu, who played in three in a row from 1994 to 2002 – even Maradona only ever played in two.

“Getting to another semifinal is not a normal, mundane thing, so this is something we should really enjoy because we don’t know if it will happen again,” Messi said.

Pickford backs England to keep cool in tense clash

Generations in England have not seen their team lift a major trophy. Their only success came when hosting the 1966 World Cup.

This current squad – headlined by the dynamic duo of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham – is, however, within touching distance of making history, by not only winning a second trophy, but a first on foreign soil.

Before the game, though, Thomas Tuchel’s side knows the pressure is firmly on them, but goalkeeper Jordan Pickford believes the team can cope.

“You’ve seen throughout the tournament our desire to win tackles. We’ve not got into any scuffles or anything,” he said on Monday.

“We’ve been very well respected within the game. Decisions go our way [or] they don’t go our way, we just reset, we go again, and we let the football do the talking.”

England, fourth in the FIFA rankings, two spots below Argentina, are set to feature in a fourth semifinal in the last five major tournaments.

England vs Argentina predictions

As of Tuesday, Opta’s supercomputer gives England a 39.1 percent probability of winning in regulation time, while Argentina’s chances of winning are 31.6 percent.

The model estimates a 29.3 percent probability of the game going to extra time.

Who is the referee for England vs Argentina?

• Referee: Ismail Elfath (US)
• Assistant referee 1: Corey Parker (US)
• Assistant referee 2: Kyle Atkins (US)
• Fourth official: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
• Reserve assistant referee: Daniele Bindoni (Italy)

Where is England vs Argentina being played?

England will play Argentina in the second semifinal at Atlanta Stadium, commonly known as Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the last of the seven World Cup matches held at this venue, which has a capacity of 68,239 for the tournament.

The stadium, boasting a retractable roof and a 360-degree halo video display, undoubtedly has the most space-age architecture of the 16 host cities.

What is the weather forecast for Atlanta?

AccuWeather forecasts rain on Wednesday afternoon. “Some sun with a thundery shower,” it says.

England vs Argentina: Head-to-head

Overall, they have met 14 times in competitive and friendly matches.

England lead the head-to-head record with six wins, while Argentina have three. Five games ended in a draw.

England vs Argentina: Past results

• England 3-2 Argentina (International friendly, 2005)
• England 1-0 Argentina (World Cup 2002, group stage)
• England 0-0 Argentina (International friendly, 2000)
• Argentina 2-2 England (4-3 on penalties, World Cup 1998, round of 16)
• England 2-2 Argentina (Challenge Cup, 1991)

The winner of the semifinal between Argentina and England will face Spain in Sunday’s final at New York New Jersey Stadium.

England vs Argentina: Team news

England midfielder Declan Rice, who has been struggling with illness, is a doubt, while veteran player Jordan Henderson is out with a wrist injury.

No injuries reported in the Argentina camp.

England’s predicted lineup

(4-1-3-2): Pickford; Konsa, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rice, Anderson; Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane

Argentina’s predicted lineup

(4-1-3-2): Martinez; Molina, Romero, Lisandro, Tagliafico; Paredes; De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister; Messi, Alvarez

[Aljazeera]

The 2027 ODI World Cup, to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, will be a 14-team event but will include a Super Series round before the group stages, and a new Super 7 before the semi-finals.

The new structure, announced by the ICC on Wednesday following the body’s Annual Conference in Edinburgh over the weekend, was introduced, the ICC said, to “enhance consequence” in the early stages.

Teams qualifying 12th to 14th will play the Super Series round. One team from the three will progress to the Group round, becoming one of 12 teams split across two groups. The top three from each group along with the next-best-ranked team across both groups will then qualify for the Super 7, from which the top four go through to the semis.

A 14-team event in 2027 means the ICC sticks to a decision made in June 2021 to expand the marquee 50-team event, after 10-team events in the 2019 and 2023 editions. But the introduction of the round-robin Super Series from which one team goes through, means 12 teams will play in what becomes the meat of the tournament, the group round where 30 games take place. In the original format of this event, two groups of seven would lead to a Super 6 stage, before the semis and final.

The restructure comes after concerns were expressed about the possibility of too many dead rubbers and resulting empty stadia at the ICC’s annual conference. Prompted by the number of foregone conclusions at the recent T20 World Cup and to ensure more jeopardy in the early stages of the tournament, the ICC have decided to introduce a knockout phase earlier, rather than change the number of teams.

“The structure has been designed to strengthen the competitive narrative across every stage of the event, with matches from Round 1 and Round 2 carrying higher consequence with a highly competitive Super 7 stage witnessing 7 qualifying teams going through a round-robin stage to qualify for the semi-finals,” the ICC said.

The game has gone back and forth on the size and format of its marquee event for a number of years now; 14 teams split into groups played the 2015 World Cup (and 16 in 2011) before the move to a 10-team event in which each side played the others. In that time the T20 World Cup has become the ICC’s primary vehicle for growth but calls to expand the 50-over version have never gone away.

The final structure of the tournament, and exact fixtures, will be confirmed at an ICC meeting in September, where the next FTP will also be tabled. The initial distribution of fixtures at the 2027 World Cup is not expected to change significantly, with South Africa set to stage the majority of fixtures, Zimbabwe around ten, and a handful in Namibia.

The ICC’s release made no reference to whether the entry or qualification process to the event changes. As things stand the 14-team tournament has 10 automatic qualifiers: the two Full Members among three co-hosts, South Africa and Zimbabwe, and the eight highest teams on the ODI rankings.

The remaining four teams will be decided by a global qualifier,  which is currently scheduled to be a 10-team event contested between the next two highest-ranked teams, four teams from the World Cup Cricket League 2 and four teams from a qualifier playoff. A date for the global qualifier has not been set but Cricinfo understands it will take place in the first third of 2027 and is likely to be held in Namibia or South Africa.

[Cricinfo]

United States President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi have met at the White House in Washington, DC, with both leaders pledging to deepen economic ties and boost Iraq’s oil output.

The meeting on Tuesday came after Trump threw his support behind al-Zaidi, a businessman with no history in politics, and publicly opposed Iraq’s former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the prime ministerial role earlier this year.

Al-Maliki, a divisive figure seen as having close ties to Iran, subsequently dropped out of contention in April.

The Iraqi government had previously said it expected several oil and gas agreements to be signed during al-Zaidi’s visit to the US, with Trump also vowing a raft of deals during the Oval Office meeting.

He called al-Zaidi “a fantastic champion, a new champion”.

“Iraq has tremendous potential because of their oil and because of other things, but because of their oil, and we’re going to be doing a lot of deals,” Trump said.

“We’re going to create a lot of jobs for both countries, and we’re going to be taking out a lot of oil. A lot of oil is coming out,” he said.

Al-Zaidi, meanwhile, said the “visit was not like any other visit”, calling it the beginning of an “economic partnership”.

He said US-Iraqi relations were shifting from militaristic to economic.

Both he and Trump said the remaining US forces in Iraq, believed to number fewer than 2,000, would completely withdraw from Iraq by September 30. That is the same date al-Zaidi pledged that armed factions active across Iraq would disarm.

Iraq has long contended with the competing influences of Tehran and Washington in its domestic politics, with tensions over the continued US troop presence, deployed amid the conflict with ISIL (ISIS), and the pull of Iran-aligned armed groups.

In his first speech in parliament as prime minister, al-Zaidi vowed to disarm the country’s varied paramilitary groups, which have wielded power since the 2003 US-led war on Iraq.

He has not said how he will achieve the ambitious goal. Shortly before his departure, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed groups in the region, including Iraq, said it would reject any outcomes of al-Zaidi’s visit.

Iraq has also been one of several fronts in the US-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28, with the conflict looming and its recent escalation looming large during al-Zaidi’s visit.

Iraq’s economy has also been particularly hard hit by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with about 90 percent of its 3.4 million barrels per day of fossil fuel exports passing through the water.

The recent fighting has thrown into question the future of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which in June beckoned in a temporary end to the fighting, the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the lifting of a US naval blockade on Iran.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, al-Zaidi also said that Iraq needs a “fair share” from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Iraq has been pushing for a higher quota on its oil production, with al-Zaidi saying the need is a direct result of the destruction caused by the war against ISIL, over which Iraq officially declared victory in 2017.

“The ⁠damage suffered by Iraq exceeds $400bn, and to this day, some ⁠Iraqis still have destroyed homes ⁠and are living in camps,” he said. “I have a plan to return them to their homes, and that is why I ‌want a fair share for Iraq in OPEC.”

[Aljazeera]