AFA proclaims July 15 'National Football Teams Day' to mark 2026 World Cup semi win over England
Argentina’s Football Association (AFA) has unanimously approved July 15 as 'National Football Teams Day' to commemorate the national side’s 2-1 comeback victory over England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final, the AFA said following Wednesday’s council executive meeting. The decision was taken to mark Argentina’s late turnaround that secured a place in the tournament final.
Argentina produced a late rally to overturn a 1-0 deficit and win 2-1, with the two goals coming from the 85th minute onwards. "The date was chosen to commemorate the Albiceleste's great and historic victory over England in the semi-final of the 2026 World Cup," AFA said in a statement following Wednesday's council executive meeting, according to ESPN. "The team, led by Lionel Scaloni, were trailing the English side by a single goal but, thanks to goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez, managed to turn the result around and send the whole country into a frenzy, with people flooding the streets in celebration."
The semi-final victory carried political sensitivity because of the long-running dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Islas Malvinas. The islands were described as being roughly 300 miles from mainland Argentina and around 8,000 miles from Great Britain in the AFA statement.
Following Argentina’s semi-final win, members of the team displayed a pitch banner reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas", which the report translated as "The Malvinas are Argentinian," and that display prompted an immediate strong reaction in England and the wider UK. The British government called on FIFA to examine the incident, and the post-match celebrations became a disciplinary matter.
Argentina progressed to the final but lost to Spain, and the final was followed by clashes between members of the two teams after the match. FIFA subsequently opened disciplinary proceedings against Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina, along with assistant coach Roberto Ayala, over allegations relating to physical assaults.
FIFA also launched investigations into the political references made during the semi-final celebrations, and separate allegations involving racist abuse and inappropriate chanting were examined. The AFA faced scrutiny on multiple fronts as those inquiries proceeded.
Argentina’s political leadership defended the players’ decision to display the Falklands message; President Javier Milei called the celebration "perfectly valid" and said the sentiment expressed by the players was representative of a feeling shared across Argentina. Milei nevertheless acknowledged that FIFA could take action over the incident, saying he expected the governing body to impose a financial penalty on the Argentine side.
