It’s all about adding another star on the jersey

Remember Mexico 1986? A football fan in India above the age of fifty would possibly answer that with a raised eyebrow, a smirk or a dismissive hand gesture, because every single one of them does. It was the first FIFA World Cup that we, in India, watched live as Doordarshan brought the game to the drawing rooms of people’s houses. Until then, we had depended on live action radio commentaries and reading the results in the next day’s newspapers. The World Cup live was a dream realised. 

In 1986 Goa, there weren’t enough television sets for all those who wanted to watch the matches, and people gathered in houses that had colour televisions, happily cycling distances late in the night, as motorised two-wheelers too were few. Nobody complained and it was like a midnight party where entire families joined, not one where you had to sneak out or in to. But, that’s a long time ago, and if you’re wondering what is the purpose of recalling that then, it is the upcoming semifinals of the 2026 World Cup.

Two sleepless nights are ahead of football aficionados in Goa. The semifinals of the FIFA World Cup have pitted the powerhouses of football in the world against each other. France, Argentina, Spain and England are the four top ranked teams in the FIFA rankings and have made it to the semis. They are also all former champions, so the World Cup is not going to slip out of the grasp of the eight countries that have won it in 96 years of the tournament. But, that’s the academic part of the semifinals, and the awaited drama on the field is being matched by what is already happening off the field.

Spain takes on France in the first semifinal. Neighbours and sharing a heated football rivalry La Roja entered the tournament as favourites and Les Bleus have proved why they have been the most consistent team in recent years. Unlike France, that has Mbappe leading the challenge for the Golden Boot, Spain has not produced an individual star yet. It’s a team performance and that makes them dangerous. This match, though to be highly watched, pales in comparison to the grudge billing that the second Argentina-England semifinal has got.

Go back to 1986 and recall what happened four decades ago on a football field in Mexico. No football fan who watched Argentina and England battle it out in the quarterfinals needs to be told what occurred there.

It was Maradona’s World Cup. We had already heard of him, and of Gary Linekar, Michel Platini, Zico, Lothar Matthaus and so many others, having pored over the newspapers and sports magazines, but as the World Cup progressed we got to know of Jorge Vadano, Burruchega, Butragueno, Voller and others that quite suddenly became names to discuss at home and outside the home.

Maradona dominated on the field and his ‘hand of God’ goal against England has possibly become the World Cup’s most-debated nugget and most-watched video clip. We watched it, live, bewildered at what was happening on the television screen as we listened to the commentators get excited. He got away with that and minutes later, scored a brilliant goal to seal England’s fate.

Both those goals are replayed every time the World Cup comes around. So, when Argentina and England meet again in the semifinals on Wednesday (Thursday morning in India), this grudge match takes on a different meaning. The two teams have met on the football fields again, but this time, it seems different. If, in 1986, there was a Diego Maradona and a Gary Linekar, in 2026 there is a Lionel Messi and a Harry Kane. It’s all even.

England supporters in the stands at Miami sang the Beatles number Hey Jude in honour of Jude Bellingham who scored two goals against Norway and took them to the semis. Wonder who will sing what after the referees blow the final whistle on Tuesday and Wednesday and which teams, in anticipation of victory, will start adding another star onto their jersey, that tiny little motif above the emblem that will announce the number of World Cups they have won.