ARGENTINA'S vice president has hit out at "pirate usurpers" ahead of her country's clash with England at Wednesday's World Cup semi-final.
Victoria Villarruel took to social media platform Twitter/X to claim that Wednesday's game was about "putting the brakes on the invaders" and that "until our last breath, we're going to claim what's ours!".
England are set to meet Argentina in the hotly-anticipated World Cup semi-final on Wednesday evening.
The match has been somewhat overshadowed by the historical context of the two countries meeting, given the 1982 Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina.
Argentina still dispute the sovereignty of the British overseas territory, with their fans regularly singing songs about it.
In a post on Twitter/X, Villarruel said: "Tomorrow we play against the usurping pirates.
"This isn't just another match.
"I'm not going to be politically correct or cold-hearted; against the English, it's always something more. It's the Malvinas, it's Diego, it's Leo's last one, and it's putting the brakes on the invaders.
"Go Argentina! Because until our last breath, we're going to claim what's ours!"
Mañana jugamos contra los piratas usurpadores. No es un partido más. No voy a ser políticamente correcta ni pecho frío, contra los ingleses siempre es algo más. Es Malvinas, es el Diego, es la última de Leo y es pararle el carro a los invasores. ¡Aguante Argentina! Porque…
— Victoria Villarruel (@VickyVillarruel) July 15, 2026
Meanwhile, Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni urged caution against making comparisons with the Falklands War, in which 900 people died.
“It’s a football match; I can’t mix things up, out of respect for what happened so many years ago,” he said.
“It was a very sad time in our history, and there isn’t much we can do about it. Mixing the two would be madness. We criticise that there was war.
“Of course people remember history and what happened. It is a game of football, we need to keep things separate."
Scaloni added: “Yes, we remember Argentinian people and people that were lost in the war, but let’s not conflate things.
“What do the players of today have to do with many, many years ago?
“It was a sad time, we remember this, of course, but it would be quite wrong to put this into the game.”
England captain Harry Kane echoed a similar sentiment, saying "it's not something you want to focus too much on, surrounding the history".
He added: "That's all part of it and that's what you guys [in the media] will talk about, the fans will be involved in.
"It's England versus Argentina, it's two of the biggest nations going toe to toe. Two giants in the semifinal of a World Cup. The rest of it is just a small part."
