‘They killed our kids’: Messi's Argentina play down violent history ahead of England match, contrasting Maradona's take

Ahead of the England match, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has refused to shift his focus to history. The team’s sole priority instead is reaching another World Cup final.

Lionel Scaloni called the achievement of reaching the semi-final genuinely historic for Argentine football. He described reaching this stage as a privileged, hard-earned position.

However, he admitted the team could have performed better against Switzerland. At the same time, Scaloni refused to add extra hype before facing England. He simply called it a football match against a tough opponent.

“The ­message is this is a football game. That is what I can say. We will be playing against a very tough opponent, they have an excellent coach, it is a football game and that is all,” he said.

“It’s a privileged space in football, not an easy feat. We’re happy and excited now, and we will try to make it to the end with every last drop of sweat,” he added.

However, given the extensive political history between the two nations, it may be difficult for fans to completely ignore the past. Argentina forward Jose Lopez has said his side would leave their “lives on the field" against England.

This tantalising World Cup semi-final marks a historic reunion. It's the first meeting between these sides since 2005. This is also the first time Lionel Messi will face England.

Lopez acknowledges the fixture carries significant history and emotional weight. According to him, the match involves considerable pain and a complicated history.

“Obviously, inside and outside the four lines of the pitch, it’s a match that has a lot of history there, a lot of pain and a lot of things behind it. I think we are professionals and we’re going to play it like we play every game: until the last ­second, leaving our lives on the field,” he said.

What did Maradona say?

Argentina and England were involved in the Falklands War in 1982. They fought over disputed South Atlantic territories. It started when Argentina's military junta invaded the islands in April.

Margaret Thatcher, the British PM at that time, then dispatched a naval task force to reclaim them. Argentina surrendered on 14 June, restoring British control entirely.

The war lasted exactly 74 days, causing significant casualties overall. Officially, it killed 649 Argentine personnel, 255 British service members and three civilians.

Because the war ended just four years earlier, the 1986 quarter-final became deeply symbolic. Before the match, Diego Maradona reportedly stressed its political significance.

Diego Maradona’s words ahead of the match reportedly pumped up the Argentine squad. He apparently said that they were defending Argentina's flag and its children. Maradona scored both the "Hand of God" and "Goal of the Century" in that match.

A popular social media version quotes Maradona as saying: "Come on, comrades... these are the ones who killed our children and women." However, the wording remains unverified.

The most authentic version of what exactly Maradona said before the match comes from teammate Jose Luis Brown's recollection. Brown recalled Maradona shouting after the Argentine anthem finished playing.

According to Brown, Maradona referred to the enemies who killed their friends and neighbours. This came inside the dressing room before their famous quarter-final.

“Let's go, eh! Let's go because these sons of b**ches killed our kids, our friends, and neighbors!” Maradone said, according to Brown.

In his autobiography, Maradona didn't record his precise pre-match words. However, he confirmed the underlying mindset driving that moment. He wrote that Argentine boys had been killed like birds.

He explicitly framed the match as revenge for their deaths. He described it as symbolic retribution for the Falklands War specifically. He told teammates they were honouring Argentina's fallen soldiers directly.