There are sporting fixtures that announce themselves as historic before a ball is kicked, and England versus Argentina on Wednesday in Atlanta is one, which is why FIFA has also decided this is the moment to announce that pieces of the MetLife Stadium turf being prepared for the July 19 final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, are available for purchase at $450 per piece, because if there is a market for it, the 2026 World Cup has found a way to charge for it.
England beat Norway 2-1 after extra time on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on two Jude Bellingham goals. The first was a left-footed strike after a run from midfield. The second was a rebound in extra time inside the six-yard box. Erling Haaland, who had scored seven goals in four previous matches and whose shirt-rolling celebration had gone viral across five continents, was held scoreless, substituted in extra time, and photographed embracing Harry Kane at the final whistle with the specific grace of an opponent who knows when to be decent about it. Thomas Tuchel, who has managed England through four knockout matches without singing God Save The King, still has not sung it. The final is Sunday. His commitment is to sing at the final, which requires winning Wednesday. He is one win away from being required to sing in public.
Argentina beat Switzerland 3-1 after extra time Saturday in Kansas City. Julian Alvarez scored in the 112th minute. Lionel Messi, who had said after the Austria group match that he is “tired and running on fumes,” then set up a corner that led to an Alexis Mac Allister goal against Switzerland, which is the kind of assist a man running on fumes makes when the fumes turn out to be Lionel Messi. He is 39. His nine-game World Cup scoring streak ended without a goal. He is in the semifinal anyway. Argentina’s odds to win the tournament have now surged to tournament favorites, which is the prediction market’s way of saying that what Messi is doing on fumes is more alarming to them than what everyone else is doing fresh.
The last time England played Argentina in a World Cup was the 2022 quarterfinal in Qatar, which Argentina won on penalties. The last time before that was 1998, when Beckham was sent off. The last time that produced the fixture’s defining image was 1986, when Diego Maradona scored with his hand and then his left foot in the same eleven minutes, and England went home having contributed to the most discussed moment in football history, which they have been discussing ever since.
The MetLife Stadium grass is $450 per piece. The semifinal is Wednesday in Atlanta. England and Argentina are both in it.
When England and Argentina meet in a World Cup semifinal 40 years after the Hand of God and FIFA is selling turf pieces at $450 and Tuchel hasn’t sung and Messi is running on fumes, what exactly is Wednesday’s match deciding?
Sources
HuffPost: Bellingham Scores Twice To Lift England Past Norway 2-1
GB News: England through to semi-finals
