England won’t be drawn into Argentina World Cup rivalry - Kane

England captain Harry Kane has urged his team to ignore the "emotional baggage" surrounding their World Cup semi-final clash with Argentina. He stressed that the focus should be on facing a "great team" rather than getting caught up in the historical narrative, which includes past World Cup encounters and the Falklands sovereignty dispute.

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Yes and no. I think it’s not something you want to focus too much on, surrounding the history.

Kane acknowledged the media and fans would discuss the history, but insisted the players' perspective is different. "From a player’s point of view it’s us against a great team, who are smart, who are tactical, who know how to buy fouls, know how to slow the game down," he said. He described the match as "two giants in the semi-final of a World Cup," with the rest of the context being a "small part for us."

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So, it’s England versus Argentina, it’s two of the biggest nations going toe to toe. Two giants in the semi-final of a World Cup. The rest of it is just a small part for us.

Despite facing Lionel Messi, who leads the Golden Boot race with eight goals to Kane's tally, the England captain stated the team's focus remains on Argentina as a collective. "The game is against Argentina, not against Lionel Messi," Kane asserted, acknowledging Messi's individual brilliance but emphasizing the team-oriented approach.

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But the game is against Argentina, not against Lionel Messi. So yeah, we have a lot of preparation to do. We’re coming up against a great unit, a great team with fantastic players.

Addressing potential internal friction, Kane downplayed disagreements between manager Thomas Tuchel and midfielder Jude Bellingham. He highlighted the team's "togetherness" and their collective drive, noting that occasional disagreements are part of professional growth. "It doesn’t mean we have to agree on every situation, all the time," he explained, praising the manager's directness and the players' ability to "take criticism" and improve.

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We know what we have, we know the togetherness we have, we all push each other, we all drive each other.