Kansas City: Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni insisted Wednesday´s heavyweight World Cup semi-final against England was “just a football game” after his side beat Switzerland 3-1 in the last eight.
Alexis Mac Allister put the defending champions ahead early in Kansas City on Saturday but Dan Ndoye scored a deserved equaliser midway through the second half.Disaster struck minutes later for Switzerland when Breel Embolo was shown a second yellow card for simulation, reducing them to 10 men.
Julian Alvarez broke Swiss hearts in the 112th minute before substitute Lautaro Martinez added a last-gasp third.Argentina now turn their attention to the semi-final in Atlanta, which promises to be a tense encounter.
The history of matches between England and Argentina is peppered with flashpoints on the pitch, set against a lingering sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Malvinas, in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Britain sent a military taskforce in 1982 to reclaim the islands after Argentine troops invaded.But Scaloni sought to put politics aside after Argentina´s victory at the Arrowhead Stadium.“Look, this is a football game,” he said. “OK, so
the message is this is a football game. That´s what I can say.“It is a football game and we will be playing against a very tough opponent. They have an excellent coach and this is a football game and that´s all.”
