Lionel Scaloni, Argentina's coach, insisted that only football will be at stake when his team faces England in the World Cup semifinal on Wednesday, despite the animosity built over decades of sporting drama and political tension.

The match revives one of the most famous rivalries in international football, shaped by England's victory over Argentina in the 1966 World Cup, the Falklands War in 1982, and Diego Maradona's famous goal in the 1986 World Cup.

The two teams also met in the 1998 World Cup, when Argentina advanced on penalties in the round of 16, and in 2002, when David Beckham's goal gave England a 1-0 win in the group stage, contributing to Argentina's early exit despite being one of the top contenders.

After his team's 3-1 extra-time win over Switzerland on Saturday to set up a meeting with their old rival, Scaloni said the match should be viewed as just a game.

He told reporters after the 2-1 win over Norway: 'It's a football match. Period. There's nothing more to it.'

Scaloni added: 'Let's not look for anything else. It's a football match. We will play a match against a great team with a wonderful coach whom I appreciate and respect greatly.'

The Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas, remain a sensitive issue between the two countries more than four decades after the 1982 conflict, which claimed the lives of 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 British soldiers, and three Falkland Islanders.

Britain asserts its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and maintains a military presence there, while Argentina continues to claim them through diplomatic channels and international bodies such as the United Nations.

The issue resurfaced during the tournament, as Argentine fans and players chanted a song referring to the islands, Maradona, and Lionel Messi's quest to end his international career by winning the World Cup for the second time.

Footage released online by the Argentine Football Association showed the team celebrating in the dressing room after the match, singing the song 'Muchachos', which includes the phrase 'for the Malvinas', the name Argentina uses for the islands.

Argentina forward Jose Manuel Lopez acknowledged the historical weight surrounding the match, but insisted the players would handle it professionally.

He told reporters: 'Of course, outside the four lines of the pitch, it's a match that carries a lot of history, a lot of pain, and a lot behind it.'

He added: 'But we are professionals. We will play it the way we play every match, until the last second, as we showed against Switzerland, and we will give it our all.'

Lopez concluded: 'It's a World Cup semifinal match, and I think it's a dream match for all my teammates since we first started kicking a ball. We don't need any extra motivation beyond that.'

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