Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency: The clash between Argentina and England at the World Cup stage means added excitement, history and emotion. This time, the eternal rivalry is returning to the semi-finals stage. The past statistics of the two teams before the match and the analysis of the supercomputer also show that the fight can be tough. Argentina and England have faced each other 14 times in international football so far. Of these, England has won 6, Argentina has won 2 and the remaining 6 matches have ended in draws. However, there are many memorable chapters in the fight between the two teams at the World Cup stage. In the last sixteen match of the 1998 World Cup, Argentina won on a tiebreaker after the two teams drew. And Argentina's last 90-minute victory against England in the World Cup came in 1986. In that match, Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' and 'Goal of the Century' made their place in football history. The last time the two teams met was in a friendly match in 2005. England won that match 3-2 with a pair of goals from Michael Owen.
This will be the sixth meeting between Argentina and England in the history of the World Cup.
Argentina's record in the previous five matches is not very comfortable, one win, two draws and two losses. However, football analysis sees the match as evenly matched in terms of current strength. According to Opta supercomputer forecasts, England is slightly ahead in terms of the probability of winning in the scheduled 90 minutes.
Opta's calculations say that England has a 37.3 percent chance of winning, while Argentina has a 32 percent chance of winning. The match has a 30.7 percent chance of a draw. The difference in the chances of reaching the final between the two teams is also very small. According to the forecast, England has a 52.3 percent chance of reaching the final, and Argentina has a 47.7 percent chance.
