England captain Harry Kane says his team will not let history or emotions affect them when they face Argentina in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Matches between England and Argentina have often carried extra significance because of the long-standing rivalry between the two nations and the dispute over the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas.
One of the most famous meetings came at the 1986 World Cup, when Diego Maradona inspired Argentina to a 2-1 win with his controversial “Hand of God” goal and a stunning solo effort that is widely regarded as one of the greatest goals in football history.
The rivalry produced another memorable moment at the 1998 World Cup, when England’s David Beckham was sent off before Argentina went on to win the match in a penalty shootout.
Asked if handling the emotions around such a high-profile fixture would be difficult, Kane said the players are focused only on the football.
“Yes and no,” he said. “I think it’s not something you want to focus too much on, surrounding the history.
“That’s all part of it and that’s what you guys (in the media) will talk about, the fans will be involved in.
“But from a player’s point of view it’s us against a great team, who are smart, who are tactical, who know how to buy fouls, know how to slow the game down — like many different teams you come up against throughout your whole career.
“So, it’s England versus Argentina, it’s two of the biggest nations going toe to toe. Two giants in the semi-final of a World Cup. The rest of it is just a small part for us.”
Kane will come up against Lionel Messi, who is set to face England for the first time in his international career.
The 39-year-old Argentina captain has scored eight goals in the tournament, two more than Kane, but the England skipper insisted his team will prepare for Argentina as a whole rather than focusing only on Messi.
“We know how good a player he is, we know what he’s done in the game, how consistent he’s been for so long,” Kane said.
“But the game is against Argentina, not against Lionel Messi. So yeah, we have a lot of preparation to do. We’re coming up against a great unit, a great team with fantastic players.”
Kane also played down reports of any tension between England manager Thomas Tuchel and midfielder Jude Bellingham after Tuchel criticised the team’s display in the quarter-final win over Norway.
“We know what we have, we know the togetherness we have, we all push each other, we all drive each other,” Kane said.
“It doesn’t mean we have to agree on every situation, all the time. I think that’s what makes the boss so unique and so great, because he wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s emotional, he says it how it is.
“Sometimes in the moment it might be hard to take, but when you actually digest it and explain it, we’re all professionals, we’re all here because we’ve been pushed to a level that we can take.
“We can take criticism. We can take it on the chin, it improves us, it makes us better.”
