Argentina’s vice-president Victoria Villarruel has stoked the flames of a decades-long rivalry ahead of Wednesday night’s World Cup semifinal by labeling England “usurping pirates” and claiming the match is “something more” than just a sporting moment.
This is after Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni tried to dissuade the mixing sport and politics.
It all leads back to the Falkland Islands—known in Argentina as Islas Malvinas.
Villarruel is a fiercely conservative politician who is outspoken on issues regarding Argentine nationalism, to the point where she has been forced to deny accusations of Argentine state terror denial, relating to the ‘Dirty War’ the dictatorship unleashed on its own people half a century ago.
Villarruel is outspoken on the Falklands issue, with her father a veteran of the 1982 war.
“We play against the usurping pirates,” the contentious politician posted on X this week. “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 [Maradona], it's Leo [Messi]’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!”
The geopolitical rivalry has made encounters on the soccer field prickly, particularly since the Falklands War. England was knocked out of the 1986 World Cup by Argentina courtesy of Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ and ‘Goal of the Century,’ waiting 40 years to win at the Azteca in Mexico City. England also lost in 1998, but helped eliminate Argentina from the group stage in 2002.
In a pinned post from April 2025, Villarruel had referred to the Falklands being the subject of a “British invasion” way back in 1833. The same post claimed an “illegal” British presence in the South Atlantic region and accused “extracontinental powers” of trying to “plunder” Argentina’s resources, as well as “loot, degrade and deplete the riches of our oceans.”
In 2024, Villarruel had called a new Falkland Islands agreement between the U.K. and Argentina “contrary to the interests of our nation.” Britain’s decision shortly afterwards to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was met with optimism by some Argentines, but Falklands governor Alison Blake highlighted the “very different” context and gave assurance that the “U.K. government remains committed to defending the Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination.”
What Are the Falkland Islands?
The Falkland Island are a group of islands around 300 miles to the east of Argentina’s southern tip.
Uninhabited until the latter half of the 18th century, the Falklands eventually came under permanent British control in the first half of the 19th century, after spells of British, French and Spanish fortification. When an Argentine garrison mutinied in 1832, Britain reasserted itself.
In the Falklands War of 1982, a brief but violent conflict, Argentina invaded but was eventually pushed back and surrendered 74 days later.
The Falklands is a British Overseas Territory but self-governs in all matters except defense and foreign affairs, which are taken care of by the U.K. government. Argentina continues to stake a claim on the islands and insists the opinions of the resident population are not an important part of the debate. A 2013 referendum voted in favor of retaining British Overseas Territory status. It was highlighted that even voting against was not necessary a vote in favor of Argentine control.
