Maldon truly exists. It's not just the brand of salt that has spread to sixty countries, especially Spain, which is the second largest consumer – England is the first–. Maldon is also a town located in the northeast of London, about sixty-odd kilometers from the British capital. The village seems like something out of a fairy tale, with exposed brick houses, local shops, independent bookstores, pubs where you could spend hours, terraces full of warm light garlands, and a small hotel (The Blue Boar), located opposite the Church of All Saints. A church – Protestant – which is a meeting point for the town, for young and old. The day we visited, grandparents were singing songs in a choir to their grandchildren, who were playing up and down in front of them.

The British government has asked FIFA to investigate the Argentine team after several players displayed a banner with the message "Las Malvinas son argentinas" at the end of the World Cup semi-final against England. The tournament regulations prohibit political demonstrations on the pitch. The banner appeared during the celebration of the Argentine victory 2-1 against England. Several players from the combined team sky blue they held it over the grass of the Atlanta stadium. Argentina continues to claim the archipelago, under British sovereignty, and which the English call the Falkland Islands.

From Barcelona to Buenos Aires there are 10,500 kilometers. About thirteen hours by plane that last night disappeared. For a few hours, the l'Hyatt Regency – a hotel located in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat – transformed into a small Buenos Aires. Thousands of people gathered to experience a historic match: England-Argentina.

Spain-Argentina in the World Cup final. The world will stop this Sunday with a historic match between Lamine Yamal and Leo Messi, two football stars forged at La Masia who are 20 years apart. There is no better spectacle to stage a generational handover. The albiceleste achieved another feat in a semifinal resolved agonizingly against England, who saw themselves overturned in just six minutes, a victim of the inexhaustible talent of Rosario's number 10, author of two key passes amidst another ode to epic (1-2). The British, despite their goalkeeper's good performance, managed the lead disastrously in a very exciting second half and were eliminated against the team with the most mystique on the planet.

On June 13, 1982, the Argentine national team debuted in the Spanish World Cup. The opening match was played at Camp Nou in Barcelona and the opponent was Belgium. "We had arrived a few days earlier. At that time, we were at war with the United Kingdom, the Falklands War. When we left Buenos Aires, the press said we were winning the war. When we arrived in Spain, the press said we were losing it," recalls Jorge Valdano, an Argentine player. Argentina would lose the match 0-1 and just one day later, on June 14, the Argentine army surrendered: it had lost the war. Two defeats in 24 hours.

The World Cup had its semifinals defined with the four best teams according to the world rankings qualified. Four top-level teams and two with great rivalry. On one hand, France and Spain. On the other hand, England and Argentina, teams that every time they face each other, it seems they play in such a way that the winner can keep the Falkland Islands. Or the Malvinas, as the British call them. But the draw was set and a good part of the debates were not about football. Both Argentinians and English were accused of having qualified thanks to refereeing assistance. In England's case, the debate was surreal: had the ball touched a cable from the camera hanging from the ceiling? Journalists, fans, and curious onlookers debated the ball's trajectory, physics and astrophysics.

A wound that has been open for sixty years. A wound that England wants to close in New York by winning the World Cup. For the moment, the team that proudly wears three lions on its crest is already in the semifinals; it's the fourth time it has achieved this. Two goals from Jude Bellingham have allowed the English to defeat a magnificent Norway in extra time in the quarterfinals in Miami, in a match where at times the English have played with fire (2-1). But the team trained by Thomas Tuchel knows how to compete and suffer. Things in life, a German coach excites the English, who will now face Argentina, in a spectacular duel. It will be a new episode of a rivalry that has given us epic matches such as the one in 1966 at Wembley, the one in 1986 in Mexico, or the round of 16 in 1998, among others.

Wednesday's round of 32 of the World Cup saw three new qualifiers for the round of 16. England came from behind against the Democratic Republic of Congo (2-1), Belgium staged an epic comeback against Senegal (3-2 after extra time), and the United States defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-0) despite playing half an hour with one player less.

Mariona Caldentey, Jana Fernández, Laia Codina, Lucía Corrales… These are just a few names of footballers who in recent years have swapped Barça for England. A phenomenon that is becoming increasingly frequent among Spanish female footballers. The conditions and opportunities in the Women’s Super League (WSL) – the name given to the English top division – are becoming increasingly attractive for players, who decide to embark on a new adventure in search of more competitive projects.

"It's clear that both we and football need another way to combat racism." This is the response from the England national team after learning of Jess Carter's complaint about racist comments during the European Championship. Sarina Wiegman's team was the only one, along with Switzerland, to take a knee before the referee's whistle. A gesture that spread across the Premier League following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in the United States.