Thomas Tuchel says there is "nowhere else in the whole wide world" he would rather be than in this semi-final against the reigning champions. It is the first meeting between the sides since 2005, and in Atlanta it reopens a rivalry that runs from the 1966 "robbery of the century" to Maradona's 1986 "Hand of God."
Argentina arrive as the tournament's top scorers with 17 goals, yet England carry a threat of their own. Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane have six apiece and will trouble the champions. "This is just a football game," Lionel Scaloni insists — though his captain, Lionel Messi, concedes that facing England will be "special." At the back the sides are level too, each having conceded six, and that only tightens the tension.
History is calling. Under the closed roof of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, decades of drama have finally spilled over into one of the modern game's biggest battles.
