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Argentina's vice-president Victoria Villarruel has intensified a long-standing rivalry ahead of Wednesday's World Cup semifinal, branding England "usurping pirates" and declaring the match is "something more" than a mere sporting contest.
This comes after Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni urged against mixing sport with politics.
The tension traces its roots back to the Falkland Islands—referred to in Argentina as Islas Malvinas.
Villarruel is a staunchly conservative politician known for her vocal stance on Argentine nationalism, to the extent that she has had to deny allegations of downplaying Argentine state terror, in connection with the 'Dirty War' waged by the dictatorship against its own citizens roughly fifty years ago.
Villarruel speaks passionately about the Falklands dispute, with her father having served as a veteran of the 1982 conflict.
"We play against the usurping pirates," the polarizing politician wrote on X this week. "This isn't just another game. I'm not going to be politically correct or indifferent; against the English, it's always something more.
"It's the Malvinas, it's Diego [Maradona], it's Leo [Messi]'s final chapter, and it's about stopping the invaders. Come on Argentina! Because until our very last breath, we will fight for what is ours!"
The geopolitical tension has made football encounters between the two nations fraught, especially since the Falklands War. England was eliminated from the 1986 World Cup by Argentina through Diego Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' and the breathtaking 'Goal of the Century,' having to wait 40 years to claim a win at the Azteca in Mexico City. England also fell to Argentina in 1998, though they helped knock Argentina out in the group stage in 2002.
In a pinned post from April 2025, Villarruel had described the Falklands as the target of a "British invasion" as far back as 1833. The same post characterized Britain's presence in the South Atlantic as "illegal" and accused "extracontinental powers" of attempting to "plunder" Argentina's natural resources, as well as "loot, degrade and deplete the riches of our oceans."
In 2024, Villarruel had described a new Falkland Islands agreement between the U.K. and Argentina as "contrary to the interests of our nation." Britain's subsequent decision to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was greeted with cautious optimism by some Argentines, though Falklands governor Alison Blake emphasized the "very different" circumstances and reaffirmed that the "U.K. government remains committed to defending the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination."
What Are the Falkland Islands?
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago situated approximately 300 miles off the southern tip of Argentina.
Uninhabited until the second half of the 18th century, the Falklands eventually came under permanent British rule in the early 19th century, following periods of British, French, and Spanish settlement. When an Argentine garrison mutinied in 1832, Britain reasserted its authority.
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During the Falklands War of 1982, a short but bloody conflict, Argentina launched an invasion but was ultimately repelled and surrendered 74 days later.
The Falklands is a British Overseas Territory that self-governs in all areas except defense and foreign affairs, which remain under U.K. jurisdiction. Argentina continues to assert its claim over the islands and maintains that the views of the local population are not central to the dispute. A 2013 referendum returned a vote in favor of maintaining British Overseas Territory status, with it noted that voting against was not necessarily an endorsement of Argentine sovereignty.