England and Argentina fans boo anthems in electric start to semi-final

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Evening Standard

15 July 2026

The national anthems of both teams was largely lost in a chorus of jeers in the build up to the much-anticipated match

England

and

Argentina

fans booed one another’s anthems in an electric opening to their

World Cup

semi-final meeting.

The

Three Lions

’ rendition of God Save the King

was almost drowned out by Argentinian fans

singing and jeering ahead of the clash between the sides.

Argentina’s national anthem was then largely lost under a chorus of boos from the

support.

Players and coaching staff in Lionel Messi’s team were visibly trying to raise their voices above the din but much of the anthem was not picked up by the TV cameras.

It marked an atmospheric beginning to the much-anticipated clash between two teams with a good deal of history and shared animosity.

The Argentinian players did their best to drown out the noise

AFP/Getty Images

Follow the Standard’s live coverage of the match here.

BBC commentator Guy Mowbray reacted to the spectacle as “something a little bit different”.

He remarked that anthems in the

so far had been largely respectful and without incident.

However, co-commentator and former

striker Alan Shearer acknowledged that the two sets of fans “don’t like each other”, adding “that’s fine”.

Both anthems struggled to be heard

BBC

The build up to the match has seen a number of small clashes between

fans in the US and elsewhere.

The game has the highest level of security seen at the tournament so far as officials fear fan trouble could be seen in the crowds.

Whoever wins the semi-final will face Spain in the

final in New Jersey on Sunday.

Spain beat France 2-0 on Tuesday night to secure the first spot in the final.

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