And that’s the end of the first half in Atlanta. Here’s John Cross’ player ratings:

Jordan Pickford 6

Good long range kicking but was left clutching air at a couple of shots.

Reece James 6

A surprise selection at right back and did not make his crossing opportunities count.

John Stones 7

Rightly rewarded for his heroics against Norway and put in another assured shift.

Marc Guehi 7

His calmness and quality on the ball really settles the defence. Top class.

Djed Spence 7

What a warrior. A surprise pick but he set the tone early on by leading the charge.

Declan Rice 6

Back after recovering from illness. His passing was off key and his mistake let in Messi.

Elliot Anderson 7

Flew into tackles, combative and strong. Another excellent display. Booked for foul on Messi.

Morgan Rogers 6

Got the nod on the right wing over Saka and Madueke, didn’t completely solve the right wing issue.

Jude Bellingham 7

One magical turn to leave Giuliano Simeone on his back side. Bang up for it.

Anthony Gordon 7

Worked hard, ran hard and pressed hard. Passed up one big shooting chance.

Harry Kane 6

Surpassed Wayne Rooney’s caps record for an outfield player. First half passed him by.

Victoria Beckham leaped into David’s arms as she celebrated England’s goal against Argentina during the tense World Cup semi-final in Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday.

Posh Spice, 52, made sure to celebrate this time round after she was ridiculed for failing to react to Jude Bellingham‘s goal in the quarter-finals last week.

The legendary footballer, 51, poked fun at his wife becoming an instant meme and insisted she was ‘celebrating on the inside’ after her subdued reaction went viral.

Victoria jumped out of her seat as David roared with victory after Anthony Gordon put England 1-0 up against Argentina.

David has followed the Three Lions around the US in the hope they will finally take home the World Cup trophy.

The couple watched the semi-final with their children Romeo, 23, Cruz, 21, Harper, 15, as well as Cruz’s girlfriend Jackie Apostel, 30.

The family joined England fans singing the national anthem, only to be drowned out by Argentina fans booing loudly.

David will have to face watching his beloved country’s team go against his good friend Lionel Messi, who is part of his Inter Miami team.

Posh Spice, 52, was ridiculed for failing to react to Jude Bellingham’s goal in the quarter-finals last week (pictured) 

And she certainly made sure to celebrate this time round as she jumped into David’s arms

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David supported the Three Lions with wife Victoria and their children Romeo, 23, Cruz, 21, Harper, 15, as well as Cruz’s girlfriend Jackie Apostel, 30

David roared with pride as he celebrated England’s victory against Norway last week. 

When photos Victoria, who famously rarely smiles, stayed seated during the goal, it prompted David to jokingly defend his wife.

The football legend commented on stand-up comedian Jenny Johnson’s summary of the match, after she wrote: ‘There’s nothing like cheering your heart out for England from home, then they cut to Victoria and we see that classic Posh Spice smile! It’s so infectious!’

‘I used to think I got animated while watching sports, but Victoria blows my enthusiasm out of the water! Each time I see her I shout, “SPICE UP YOUR LIFE!!!!” because her energy is electric!!!’

Commenting with a string of crying laughing emojis, David wrote: ‘She was celebrating inside I promise her reactions were slightly slower than mine.’ 

The fashion designer and singer has famously said that she wasn’t a fan of football when she met David at a Manchester United match in 1997.

Ever the doting wife, Victoria ensured she attended every game she could, but confessed she didn’t enjoy the sport because she didn’t feel ‘wanted’ when she was pitch side. 

However, in recent years Victoria has had a change of heart after David retired and set up his own club Inter Miami.

Victoria told the Financial Times in 2024: ‘I never enjoyed watching football. I never felt necessarily wanted [at the matches]. I’m not saying this as in, poor me, but it was never the fun that it is now.

‘Now, when we’re in Miami, I feel wanted. I’m friends with the families of the players.’

The legendary footballer poked fun at his wife becoming an instant meme and declared she was ‘celebrating on the inside’ after he subdued reaction went viral last week

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Victoria jumped out of her seat as David roared with victory after Anthony Gordon put England 1-0 up against Argentina

David couldn’t contain his happiness as he cheered on the Three Lions taking the lead

David wiped away his nerves at the start of the game

The tense-looking footballer has followed the Three Lions around the US in the hope they will finally take home the World Cup trophy 

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The Beckham clan stood for the singing of the national anthem

David appeared teary-eyed as he wiped his face during the national anthem

As the game kicked off, Cruz lifted his arms in the air passionately while David explained the game to Victoria

Victoria consoled David as he appeared to get something in his eye

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David roared with pride as he celebrated England’s victory against Norway last week

David and Victoria chatted in the stands to calm their nerves ahead of the game

David gave his fans a thumbs up in the stands

The family larked around with each other before the game kicked off

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David was spotted getting acquainted with Timothee Chalamet as they cheered on rival teams at the France vs Spain World Cup semi-final on Tuesday.

Timothee’s father is French and he is bilingual in both English and French. The star holds dual United States and French citizenship.

The Dune star, who is dating Kylie Jenner, threw his support behind the French side as he attended the nail-biting match where they were defeated 2-0 by Spain.

David played in both Spain and France during his career, with a stint at Real Madrid from 2003 to 2007, and five months with Paris Saint-Germain in 2013.

But his loyalty lay firmly with Spain, who scored a penalty in the first half and netted a goal in the second to leave the tournament favourites dumbfounded.

Despite supporting rival sides, the two stars still found common ground as they caught up in the VIP hospitality box on the night.

They looked to be exchanging friendly banter in the match breaks, where David was joined by his wife Victoria and their children.

His children followed suit by supporting the side, with Harper and Romeo both sporting jackets from his brand Intra in Spain’s colours.

Harper was also seen looking slightly starstruck as she greeted Timothee.

Meanwhile, Romeo shared a photo of their meeting on his Instagram page shortly after the match ended.

Both Timothee and the Beckhams were left starstruck while eagerly posing for photos with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, who performed on their home turf during the match.

The DCC have soared to superstardom since featuring in three seasons of Netflix‘s hit docuseries America’s Sweethearts.

Victoria, who stuck to her famous Posh pout during the football match, even managed to raise a small smile as she excitedly posted a series of snaps with the cheerleaders, posing with pom poms and asking ‘did I make the squad?’

‘ABSOLUTELY’ replied the DCC girls as they reposted the photo along with a sweet family snap which showed them posing with Victoria, David and their kids.

The family were also treated to a special performance of the DCC’s famous Thunderstruck routine, with Victoria sharing a video of the cheerleaders in their kick line on the field after the match had finished.

Timothee Chalamet and David Beckham were spotted getting acquainted as they cheered on rival teams at the France vs Spain World Cup semi-final on Tuesday

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Romeo shared a photo meeting Timothee on his Instagram page shortly after the match ended

Cruz also got in on the action posing for photographs with Timothee

Timothee was also left ‘thunderstruck’ by the cheerleaders.

The DCC Instagram account shared a video of the star meeting the girls, with a near-speechless Timothee admitting to the camera that he was ‘starstruck’.

Timothee singled out Anna Kate Sundvold, giving her a huge hug before borrowing some pom poms for a photo.

Dallas put on a show as the AT&T Stadium, temporarily renamed Dallas Stadium, hosted the first World Cup semi-final on Tuesday. 

The North Yorkshire coastal town secured second place on Sykes Holiday Cottages’ Staycation Index for 2026.

Other nearby destinations also made the list, with Staithes and Thirsk coming in at fifth and sixth place respectively.

Saltburn is praised for its Victorian pier, cliff tramway, and expansive sandy beach, while also offering easy access to the dramatic scenery of the North York Moors National Park.

Accommodation options like Nancy’s Blushes, a stylish apartment for three, provide great value for visitors looking for a comfortable and affordable coastal base.

Staithes offers an alternative seaside escape, described in the report as “one of North Yorkshire’s best-kept secrets.”

Staithes, North Yorkshire (Image: SUPPLIED)

The fishing village is known for its colourful cottages and historic harbour.

Sykes highlights Hillsover, a restored cottage set over three floors with bi-fold doors leading to a private roof terrace.

Guests can enjoy panoramic sea views and unwind after a day exploring the coast.

Inland, Thirsk rounds out the North Yorkshire trio.

The traditional market town sits between the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales national parks.

According to Sykes, holidaymakers can experience “The traditional market town is home to independent shops, cafés and the popular World of James Herriot.”

Kemps Yard Retreat, a cottage for four, is hidden behind the gardens of a historic Friends Meeting House and accessed via a 17th-century cobbled street. It offers a peaceful stay just moments from the centre of town.

The top 10 most affordable UK staycation destinations for 2026 are Louth, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Haworth, Hornsea, Staithes, Thirsk, Hereford, Liskeard, Okehampton, and Morpeth.

The index found that 23 per cent of Brits are choosing cheaper destinations for their holidays.

This rises to 30 per cent among Gen Z and 33 per cent among millennials.

To find out more, visit www.sykescottages.co.uk/blog/cheapest-holiday-destinations-uk/ or call 01244 617 683.

The full list of top 10 destinations is available on the Sykes Holiday Cottages website.

The blaze is believed to have been started by a faulty electrical charger

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An urgent appeal has been launched to support a young mother and her four children who lost “almost everything they owned” after their home was destroyed in a devastating blaze.

The fire, which broke out in Bro Rhos, Bethel, near Caernarfon, is thought to have been ignited by a faulty electrical charger on Tuesday. Firefighters from several nearby stations raced to the scene to battle the flames, with the road closed while emergency services attended the incident.

In the wake of the tragedy, a GoFundMe campaign has been set up by Hannah Hughes to help the family start afresh. By 1.10pm on Wednesday, more than £7,800 had been raised towards a £10,000 target. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Local residents are also collecting physical donations of clothing, toys and household goods, as well as seeking urgent temporary housing for the family, reports North Wales Live.

In a statement posted on the GoFundMe page, Hannah Hughes wrote: “In just a few heartbreaking moments, the lives of a young mum and her four children were changed forever.

“Today, their family home in Bethel, near Caernarfon, was devastated by a house fire. While we are incredibly thankful that they are safe, they have lost almost everything they owned.

“Their home, their belongings, their treasured memories, and the sense of security that every family deserves have all been taken from them.

“No parent ever imagines having to tell their children that they have nothing left to go home to. This young family is now facing the unimaginable – trying to comfort four frightened children while wondering what tomorrow will bring. They urgently need our help as they begin the long journey of rebuilding their lives.”

Two girls, aged 13 and eight, and two boys, aged 10 and four, lived at the property.

The GoFundMe statement continued: “As a community, we have an opportunity to remind this family that they are not facing this alone. Every donation, no matter how small, will help provide the essentials they now desperately need – clothing, food, toiletries, school items, furniture, appliances, and the everyday necessities that most of us take for granted.

“The funds will also help ease the financial pressure while they secure temporary accommodation and begin to rebuild their lives. If you are unable to donate financially, there are many other ways you can help.

“We are looking for donations of children’s clothing, toys, bikes, furniture, appliances, and other household essentials. If you have something to give, please post it on the community page Cymuned Bethel (Facebook) so collection can be arranged or Contact Caffi’r Bedol, Bethel.

“We are also urgently looking for a house to rent in Bethel, either through a private landlord or a housing association. Any leads would be hugely appreciated. For anyone wishing to make an immediate cash donation, a collection pot has been placed at Bedol Bethel. Bethel has always been a community that looks after its own.

“Now is the time to come together once again. Whether you can donate £5, £50, offer an item, or simply share this fundraiser, you are helping to give this family hope at a time when they need it most.

“Please keep this family in your thoughts, and if you are able, help us show them that even after the darkest day, they are surrounded by compassion, kindness, and a community that cares. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for any support you can give.

“Efforts to support the family are already well underway across the village, with residents being urged to coordinate physical donations and local housing leads to help the mother and her children recover from the disaster.”

A North Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 15:05 yesterday (15 July) to a property fire in Bethel. Firefighters from Caernarfon, Bangor and Colwyn Bay attended. The fire is believed to have been caused by a faulty charger.

“This incident is a reminder that electrical fires can happen at any time. Chargers can become very hot, so never leave items charging unattended or for long periods.

“Always switch off the charger at the plug, even when it is not connected to a device. Do not mix and match chargers or use aftermarket versions; always use the charger supplied with the device.

“Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using electrical items and switch them off and unplug them before going to bed. Be prepared for a fire by ensuring you have working smoke alarms in your home and keeping escape routes clear so you and your family to exit your home as quickly as possible.”

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An elderly woman in Florida has become the talk of her retirement community after vehicle licensing officials assigned her with a racy number plate.

Pompano Beach resident Nancy Dello Stritto says she “went ballistic” when she discovered her new license plate number was “SQZ A55”.

“I don’t think a senior who is almost 77 will be driving around with a plate that has that to say,” Dello Stritto told CBS News in Miami, adding: “How could that pass inspection?”

She said some neighbours have encouraged her to exchange the plate, while others – including family members and her sons – have told her to keep it.

Dello Stritto said she was expecting a replacement plate and, at first, did not notice anything amiss when she got it in the mail.

Despite her displeasure, she has decided to keep the plate “just to see what happens”.

“I’m resigned to it; maybe it was destined for it to be on my car,” Dello Stritto said.

“I can handle it if I get a few honks here and there. Actually, being over 70, I might like a few honks.”

According to CBS, Florida license plates have been manufactured at a state prison in North Florida for nearly 100 years, before being distributed through state agencies.

Broward County officials have said plates that are deemed offensive can be exchanged for free.

Adam has not been seen by his family since May 26

Police have said they are concerned for the welfare of a missing man who was last seen at the end of May in Lurgan.

Adam Mroz, 41, who is Polish but living in the Lurgan area, was last seen by his family on May 26, however, he was seen visiting the library in Lurgan on July 4. Police have said there is a chance he has travelled outside of Northern Ireland.

He has been described as 5’10 with short brown hair and of a heavy build.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police and the family of Adam Mroz, 41, who is from the Lurgan area, are growing increasingly concerned for his welfare. “Adam, who is Polish, has not been seen by his family since May 26th, 2026.

“He was seen visiting the library in Lurgan on July 4th, 2026. “He is described as being approximately 5’10” tall, with short brown hair, and is of a heavy build. “Police believe there is a possibility that Adam may have travelled outside Northern Ireland. “If you have seen Adam, or if you have any information in relation to his whereabouts, please contact police via 101, and quote reference number 525 of 03/07/26.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

It is the first time in his illustrious career that Lionel Messi has ever played against England, having been suspended for their last match back in 2005. His significant threat must be contained if Thomas Tuchel’s side are to progress any further and avoid a dreaded third-place play-off. England have been boosted by the fitness of Declan Rice following illness, but Tuchel has gambled with three changes to the starting XI, with Reece James, Djed Spence and Morgan Rogers all coming in.

I know. We’ve said it before. But Jodie Ramsey (Olivia Frances-Brown) really is about to be exposed for all her delightfully deranged scheming – and this time, there’s no going back.

Before you even start, I feel your pain. It’s increasingly infuriating to see Weatherfield’s newest bunny boiler put her delightfully deranged plots into action each week and manipulate herself out of trouble every time.

It’s also very entertaining. This woman is no Becky Swain (Amy Cudden). She didn’t rise from the grave on her first day: although she did escape from the back of a van belonging to Emmerdale’s baddest butler,Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough).

Since that day, this twisted sister of Shona Platt (Julia Goulding) has been going full cuckoo in the nest in a wonderfully sociopathic revenge quest to seduce her husband David (Jack P Shepherd) to pay big sis back for walking out on their family years ago. Calm down, love.

When Jodie’s seduction went pear-shaped, and David told Jodie just how off the deep end her sister was, the bitter little schemer got kicked out of the Platts and found herself another sucker – Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard). After Daniel finally saw the Pound Shop Single White Female’s true colours, she had to go cap in hand back to Shona, who was willing to let bygones be bygones. Lucky for Jodie.

Not so lucky for David’s sister Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien) however, who happened to discover her bizarre box of trinkets stolen from their neighbours.

In a panic, Jodie attacked Sarah from behind on the very night that Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) was killed – inadvertently giving the murderer, Sarah, the best possible alibi.

Sarah knows that Jodie was her attacker. After making the discovery, she confronted Jodie, but because Jodie figured out that Sarah had lied to the police about the exact timing of the assault, they two women were left at a stalemate.

Jodie’s got good reason for wanting to keep that box under wraps, seeing as it contains a gun – the very gun that she stole from Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard) after his Mexican stand off in the garage with Ronnie Bailey (Vinta Morgan), Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) and  Kevin (Michael Le Vell). This act ironically put Carl in danger, as he was holding on to the gun of ruthless dodgy car dealing criminal Fiona Morley (Sara Poyzer).

Jodie’s box of stolen trinkets has always been a smoking gun. Now she’s taken that literally. If the Platts discover that box, the bunny-boiling baddie is done for. And one of the Platts is about to do just that.

In next week’s episodes, Sarah finally comes clean to her boyfriend DS Kit Green (Jacob Roberts), who is shocked when she reveals it was Jodie who attacked her.

Obviously this comes back to bite her, because this is Corrie and nobody keeps a secret for more than five seconds. Furious, Kit goes blabbing to Shona, who immediately goes charging off to demand answers from Jodie. How will Jodie get out of this one?

Not very well, it seems, as David and Shona visit Sarah later and she tells them all about Jodie’s trinket box. Will they be able to find it?

Not them, but someone else. The worst person possible. David and Shona’s daughter, Jodie’s adoring niece, Lily (Grace Ashcroft-Gardner). Once David and Shona are in bed, Lily tiptoes downstairs in search of her console.  She reaches under the sofa and pulls out Jodie’s trinket box.

What will she find – the gun? Or something worse?

As plumes of steam rise and dissipate from the grates of New York in the opening frames of Taxi Driver, we see the unsettled brown eyes of Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro in a career-defining role.

The second of Martin Scorsese’s successful collaborations with De Niro, the pair went on to make another eight feature films. Scorsese was a new breed of director, pushing the boundaries of “New Hollywood” – an era that broke the rules of the studio system to produce something rawer, darker and willing to explore the underbelly of the American dream. This kind of filmmaking was more in tune with the depressed 1970s than the upbeat films of an earlier decade.

For several years now, as part of my America on Film module, I have been teaching Taxi Driver, released in the UK 50 years ago in 1976. The course aims to show how film represents American history. Taxi Driver is an excellent example, and one that students continue to respond to in interesting ways.

This was the year of the presidential election, pitting the replacement for the disgraced Richard Nixon, Republican Gerald Ford, against the Democratic peanut farmer from Georgia, Jimmy Carter.

The Vietnam war was still reverberating and the US was demoralised and disillusioned by the My Lai massacre, the revelation of the Pentagon Papers, the Watergate break-in and cover-up, and the subsequent resignation of Nixon. Paranoia was high. The enemy was no longer just external – this was a period of thawing of relations in the cold war – but within.

There was a flourishing of paranoid conspiracy thrillers like All the President’s Men, Klute, Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View, which Taxi Driver taps into. Its nocturnal and hallucinatory quality makes us ask whether any of this is actually real or just happening inside Bickle’s head.

Although the US had withdrawn from Vietnam three years earlier, that conflict was still at the front of American minds. Saigon fell in 1975, reuniting the country and signalling the utter failure of imperialist US policy there.

Bickle’s masculinity mixed the American mythology of violence with the look of the Mohawk. By making him a Vietnam veteran, the film put those issues front and centre, as well as the issues vets faced after they came home: loneliness, alienation and PTSD. Taxi Driver belongs to that genre of the returning Vietnam war vet.

It preserves in amber a 1970s New York far removed from the Disneyfied streets of today’s city, revealing a Times Square once filled with peep shows, pimps, prostitutes and hustlers. De-industrialised and dilapidated, the city was close to bankruptcy; crime was rife, drugs and rubbish were everywhere, its economy stagnated.

New York City was a very dangerous place to be, full of racism and misogyny, a biblical Sodom and Gomorrah. The chaos, crime, corruption and moral decay appal Bickle. As he notes in his diary: “All the animals come out at night: whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies – sick, venal.” When he writes, “someday, a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets,” he dreams of a flood-like vengeance and justice.

De Niro becomes an icon

Taxi Driver was not De Niro’s first major screen role, nor was he Scorsese’s first choice – Harvey Keitel was, but he turned it down to play pimp Sport Higgins in the film instead. Still, it capped a trilogy of films that cemented De Niro’s reputation in Hollywood, that included Mean Streets and The Godfather Part II.

A method actor, De Niro prepared intensely for the role, spending weeks driving a cab in New York City before the shoot. Together with the earlier Mean Streets, it helped shape De Niro’s onscreen persona as a tough streetfighter and gangster in films such as Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Cape Fear and Casino. His later roles in Analyze This and Meet the Parents parody this persona.

Bickle’s physical transformation prefigures the beefier, hypermasculine antiheroes of the 1980s. Although he begins to work out obsessively, he remains rail-thin, physically distinctive from the stars of the Reagan era such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.

Keitel, Jodie Foster and Cybil Shepherd also starred. Screenwriter Paul Schrader infused it with his own life experiences and the thoughts of writers Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Albert Camus. Hitchcock favourite Bernard Herrmann composed the musical score, completing it only hours before he died.

Taxi Driver’s legacy

The movie chimed with the zeitgeist, receiving four Academy Award nominations and winning the Palme d’Or at the 1976 Cannes film festival. Beyond the critics, Bickle became the embodiment of a resentful, angry, self-loathing, socially inept young man with a dangerous saviour complex.

One of them, John Hinckley, became obsessed with the film, began stalking Foster, and attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981 in a bid to get her attention.

Scenes and lines from the film have become iconic. For film scholar Amy Taubin, the improvised line: “You talkin’ to me?” became “arguably the most quoted scene in movie history”. Consider Vincent Cassel mimicking it (in French) in La Haine in 1995: “C’est à moi que tu parles?”

Fight Club (1999) is a modern remake of Taxi Driver, featuring another method actor, Edward Norton, another decidedly unreliable narrator who also has trouble sleeping. Bickle also inspired the titular character of Joker in 2019.

If made today, though, it would be called Uber Driver. But then, most likely, Travis Bickle would be immersed in the online and misogynistic manosphere of mixed martial arts and Maga, admiring figures like Andrew Tate and being an avid keyboard warrior rather than going out into the urban jungle.

He’d be deep into Pornhub rather than the adult cinema Bickle takes Betsy to. He’d have access to an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Speaking about Taxi Driver earlier this year, screenwriter Schrader reflected on men like Bickle: “We call them incels now.”

There was fury this evening after Argentina fans booed loudly enough to drown out God Save the King – before England fans returned the favour. 

Both Argentinian and England fans jeered their opponent’s national anthems before kick-off for tonight’s World Cup semi-final. 

The packed-out stadium in Atlanta was filled with rival fans who certainly made their voices heard, ahead of England’s most important football match since 1966.

Thomas Tuchel‘s side lined up on the pitch alongside their Argentinian opposition, but while both sides were seen singing along to their respective anthems, fans at home could barely make out the tune.

Tens of thousands of fans on each side determinedly booed and jeered throughout, leaving supporters in Britain to follow along based on their lips.

There are fears tempers will fray tonight as the high-stakes match sees England take part in its fourth-ever semi-final.

Only once, in 1966, have they progressed to the final while Argentina has won its last five consecutive World Cup last-four games.

The match kicked off at 8pm in Georgia – and while thousands of supporters have travelled stateside to watch England play, millions more are watching screenings of the game across the country. 

England lines up for the national anthems ahead of their semi-final World Cup tie against Argentina

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Ahead of kick-off, both teams ran out onto the pitch in what is expected to be one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament so far.

But England fans were less than impressed by the Argentinians’ opening display, with some accusing them of having no ‘respect’ for God Save the King.

As well as jeering, some fans in the stadium were seen singing ‘Whoever doesn’t jump is English’ during the anthem.

‘Argentine supporters have no respect for the English national anthem. Come on England,’ said one.

‘Argentina’s fans are too loud, you can’t even hear the England anthem,’ said a second on social media.

A third branded the behaviour ‘disappointing’ – but England fans were not to be outdone. 

Even before the opening notes of Argentina’s anthem rang around the stadium, supporters of the Three Lions were already jeering, determined to return the favour.

Many fans watching at home described the South American side’s players as appearing ‘angry’ or ‘passionate’ in their singing, as tens of thousands of fans joined in from the stands.

Once the whistle blew, the competition got off to a feisty start with combative challenges which resulted in arguments both on and off the pitch.

England fans in Manchester sing along to God Save the King as they watch the semi-final

The flags of England and Argentina are seen before the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina in Atlanta

Early competition between the two sides saw some feisty confrontations on the pitch

While players stepped in to prevent any physical altercations on-field between Kane and Lionel Messi’s teams, Tuchel was seen remonstrating with officials on the touchline.

Earlier, England fans said they are optimistic that the Three Lions can secure a place in the World Cup final, but highlighted concerns that Messi may stand in their way.

Thousands of England supporters have descended on Atlanta ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final against defending champions Argentina.

The old rivals go head-to-head at the air-conditioned Mercedes-Benz Stadium – and superfan Gary Holliday said he spent around £2,500 on a ticket for the match.

Speaking outside the stadium in Atlanta, Mr Holliday, 46, from Birmingham, said: ‘I’ve been chatting to the lads in the WhatsApp group and I’m mildly optimistic, to be honest.

‘If Bellingham turns up, I honestly don’t think these are as good as, certainly what they think they are.

‘I think Bellingham is going to run all over them, to be honest – Kane has been off the boil for the last couple, I think he owes us a game as well.

‘So I’m quite optimistic – I’ve spent a small fortune on a ticket for the final so fingers, toes and anything else long enough crossed.’

Also outside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Colin Leslie, 63, originally from Salisbury, said: ‘I’m absolutely petrified.

‘It’s going to be a long trip home if it goes wrong.’

Asked if he was confident of a result, he added: ‘The same as every tournament – yes. And we’ve got a Bellingham so we should be all right, and we’ve got a Kane as a back-up for Bellingham, and I believe Mr (Declan) Rice might be joining us today.’

Liam Pearce, 29, from Wiltshire, added: ‘I’m very nervous, it’s the semi-final of a World Cup.

‘It’s a big game, it’s a big rivalry, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.’

Mr Holliday conceded that he was ‘mildly concerned’ about the threat posed by Argentina captain Messi.

‘You’ve got to be mildly concerned haven’t you?’ he said.

‘But Messi of four years ago is not the same player he is now.

‘I think he looks brilliant against really, really average teams, and I don’t think we’re average – I think Elliot Anderson and Declan (Rice) will get around him and hopefully smash him.’

He continued: ‘I’ve been to every tournament since 2014 and I have literally waited my entire life to see England play Argentina.’