Why is Eduardo Sacheri refusing to speak before the match against England?

Eduardo Sacheri, author of football and Malvinas books, refuses to speak before the match against England. In his Twitter account, he explained that his level of anxiety prevents him from stringing together more than two coherent sentences.

The reason for his anxiety is the same as that of millions of Argentines: on Wednesday, July 15, Argentina faces England in the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup, in Atlanta. The match is played at 16:00 (Argentine time) at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It will be the first encounter between the two teams in a World Cup since 2002, when David Beckham scored a penalty and England won 1-0 in Sapporo, in the group stage. Before that, in France 1998, Argentina had advanced on penalties after a 2-2 draw in Saint-Étienne. And before that, in Mexico 1986, Diego Maradona scored the two most famous goals in World Cup history: the first, with his hand, which he himself baptized as “the Hand of God”; the second, after a 60-meter run in which he evaded five defenders and the goalkeeper Peter Shilton, and which the FIFA chose as the “Goal of the Century” in a vote held in 2002. Argentina won that match 2-1 and was crowned world champion.

That historical context is, precisely, the literary territory of Sacheri. The Buenos Aires writer, born in Castelar in 1967, has spent decades building a work in which football and Argentine history are intertwined in a constant way. His stories - collected in volumes such as Esperándolo a Tito (2000) and the anthology (2013)- turned the passions of the common fan into literary material. His columns in the El Gráfico magazine, compiled in La vida que pensamos(2015) and Las llaves del reino(2017), consolidated that voice. And his novel El fútbol, de la mano(2005), directed by La pregunta de sus ojosJuan José Campanellawith the title El secreto de sus ojos- winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2010-, placed him among the most read authors on the continent.

Why is the match against England important for Argentina?

The match against England is important for Argentina because it represents an opportunity for the Argentine team to demonstrate its strength and determination in the 2026 World Cup. The history between the two teams is rich and exciting, and the match promises to be an intense and exciting encounter.

What comes after the match against England?

After the match against England, Argentina will face the winner of the match between France and Belgium in the final of the 2026 World Cup. The Argentine team will be eager to demonstrate its ability to reach the final and fight for the title.

The last time Argentina played, they obtained an impressive result: Angola 0-2 Argentina (2025-11-14). Recently, the Argentine team has been on a winning streak, with a record of 3W-0D-0L (WWW) in their last three matches.