‘England v Argentina, old foes, playing for high scores’

Henry Winter’s World Cup Diary, Day 31

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It was at the end of “Mr Brightside” that a fan wearing an Argentina shirt and a fan wearing a Shearer 9 shirt from Euro 96 hugged. It was in a bar in downtown Atlanta just after midnight and the karaoke bar was shared between Argentina and England fans. I went in with two friends, England fans, we met three others and finally got a table facing the dance floor. It was in programs like this, whistles were blown and guards were lax, the state of the city would be tested. England v Argentina, old foes, play for high scores – a place in the World Cup final.

A recipe for trouble with some Argentine fans already walking around wearing t-shirts proclaiming “Malvinas belong to Argentina” with a large picture of Diego Maradona. As we entered the bar, an Englishman outside was shouting at an Argentinian man who was leaning out of the car window and holding up Lionel Messi’s shirt. He dropped the “F” bomb. Falklands.

Both head coaches, Thomas Tuchel and Lionel Scaloni, have been at pains to insist that “it’s only a game of football”. Both men understood the sensitivity between nations about the Falklands and were determined not to fuel the fire. It was not expected that the fans on the streets would be so vocal and therefore the police operation was undercover last night.

It wasn’t necessary at the bar we were in, although a policeman would come in when we left at 1am. The two sets of fans seemed to be having a lot of fun sharing the karaoke machine. The English dominated for a while and first included “Vindaloo” which included a short rendition of “f*ck the Argies”. Two fans fought each other and took off the badge, seeing who could grab the leg and kiss it the most, before giving up. “World In Motion” was followed by “Bittersweet Symphony” with plenty of “England”. Inevitably “Wonderwall” was heard with a lot of noise by many well-known keys.

The almost chaotic “Three Lions” was a Yuletide version, including “the composition of the Christmas tree” and “three lions in the trunk” etc). The Argentines sang many songs at the tables of the high-end restaurant and stood up and joined in.

Queen brought them all together. “We’ll Rock You” had about 25 Englishmen and 15 Argentines on the floor. One England fan gave the young Argentine the finger, and there was a brief scuffle, but the situation was calmer than expected. The Courteneers’ “Not nineteen forever” changed to “the ball is coming home again – with Thomas Tuchel”. We will see later but last night showed that some were willing to give peace a chance.

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Of course, the stars disrupted the competition: Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane from England and Lionel Messi from Argentina. Although they were defeated, Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard improved their reputation and figures. What pleased the England coach, Thomas Tuchel, was a lot of delivery. “The entire World Cup showed all the stars who are committed to the team’s vision, committed to the team’s spirit, committed to the idea of ​​playing for their country,” said Tuchel. England are certain now.

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I struck up a conversation with a 50-year-old taxi driver who loved Atlanta but wanted to get on the road and explore the world now that his daughters were out of college. He briefly considered going to Italy but found it difficult to understand the ancient landscape or the waterfront of Venice. I was encouraged that he was in the 47% of Georgian adults who had a passport. He wanted to go but where he really wanted to go was Vegas, armed with $300, and make slots.

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Leaving KC for Atlanta forever was heartbreaking. If you like ribs, brick-sized (but soft) cheesecake, sports, Civil War history and people who wish you a good day and mean it, then Kansas City, Missouri is the place for you. I was doing three to four radio or TV interviews a day, most of them in theory, so the hotel built a studio in a spare commercial space with colorful backdrops of the big World Cup sides. Nice touch. Early BBC broadcasts required the computer to be powered up by a book or two. I looked around but soon realized I was in one of the few hotels in the Mid-West without a bible. The hotel got me a Trivial Pursuits box to support my computer. And they always had a pot of coffee on the go day or night.

Check out Henry Winter’s entire World Cup Diary here