Argentina players have celebrated their World Cup semi-final victory over England by holding a banner about the Falkland Islands on the pitch in Atlanta.

Argentine boss Lionel Scaloni had said before the game he did not want the fixture to become about the conflict over the British overseas territory.

But after his side came from 1-0 down with five minutes left on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) to win 2-1 and reach a second successive World Cup final, players held up a banner that read “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, which translates to “The Falkland Islands are Argentinian”.

The banner had also been visible in the stands.

One of those players involved was midfielder and unused substitute Giovani Lo Celso, who previously played in England for Tottenham Hostpur.

World football body FIFA bans players and officials from displaying political messages around World Cup matches, so the defending South American and world champions could face sanctions.

Political tensions linger between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands, which boiled over into conflict in 1982.

Argentina has repeatedly claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, which are about 12,875 kilometres from Britain and 483 kilometres from mainland Argentina.

¡Argentina finalista del mundo! Gracias Enzo, Gracias Lautaro, Gracias Selección Argentina por darnos una alegría más! 🇦🇷 ¡No era un partido más! pic.twitter.com/JL5NoIt8Kj

— Victoria Villarruel (@VickyVillarruel) July 15, 2026

Argentinian Vice-President Victoria Villarruel wrote on X before the game: “We play against the usurping pirates.

“I’m not going to be politically correct or cold-hearted; against the English, it’s always something more.”

And she tweeted a victory message at fulltime saying, “it wasn’t just another match” alongside a video of what appeared to be Argentinian soldiers.

Villarruel’s father fought in the Falklands War for Argentina’s military dictatorship.

England’s Jude Bellingham consoles Anthony Gordon after their defeat. Photo: AAP

Meanwhile, England coach Thomas Tuchel is under fire over his team’s heartbreaking defeat, with some critics blaming his second-half substitutions for the late late 2-1 turnaround.

Anthony Gordon had put England ahead early in the second half, but was soon withdrawn by Tuchel, who brought on defenders Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly in the final 20 minutes.

His changes backfired as Enzo Fernandez equalised in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martinez struck an added-time winner to seal Argentina’s spot in Sunday’s (5am Monday AEST) final against Spain.

England’s defensive approach to holding a lead carried eerie echoes of their Euro 2020 final loss to Italy, with former boss Sir Gareth Southgate criticised in some circles for his tactical approach.

They fell on their swords again under Southgate in the the Euro 2024 final against Spain, with the manager again criticised for his tactics.

“If you’re an attacking player on that pitch and you go 1-0 up and you see the changes which the manager’s making, you’re losing belief ­– there’s only so many times you can get away with it,” former England and Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney said on the BBC.

“Then you start thinking, ‘Oh no we’re going to sit back for this long, how are we going to get through this?’

“It’s a panic, it’s a real panic… If you let players of that quality have the ball around your penalty box, sooner or later they’re going to score.”

Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart also drew tactical comparisons between Southgate and Tuchel.

“I think Gareth Southgate will be at home watching this game. He took a lot of criticism when it came to the big moments with England when they had the lead and when they were in big games about shutting up shop,” Hart said.

“Thomas Tuchel, for as much praise as we’ve given him, for him to change it as soon as he did, I think he realised that’s him saying he didn’t believe in his team, he didn’t think they could land any more punches on Argentina.”

Former England striker and skipper Alan Shearer added: “I said it on commentary, they had six defenders on the pitch, (he) played his hand and wanted to hang on.

“Those decisions are the ones which can make such as difference.

“We praised him v Mexico and now we’re going to go the other way … could he have put some pace on? They were physically and mentally done once Argentina got that first goal.”

–with DPA