England won't get distracted by history of rivalry with Argentina, insists Kane

[p]The history of matches between the nations is peppered with incidents, set against a lingering sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Malvinas, in the South Atlantic Ocean.[/p][p]The most storied encounter between the teams was a 2-1 victory for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a] at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, featuring two goals from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/maradona-diego/2oVZGPyM/"]Diego Maradona[/a] - one the infamous 'Hand of God' goal and the other a dazzling solo effort considered one of the best ever.[/p][p]Twelve years later, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/beckham-david/S0VmZ6TT/"]David Beckham[/a] was sent off at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a] '98 as Argentina won on penalties.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/j9N9ZNFA/"]England[/a] captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kane-harry/v5HSlEAa/"]Kane[/a] was asked in an interview with [i]ITV[/i] whether managing the emotion around the match in Atlanta would be challenging.[/p][image alt="Recent head-to-head record" id="3e51767a-9bad-4ba2-b262-950c1054d1ba" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="b042ab8d-007a-45e0-88d9-54846e662080" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]"Yes and no," he said. [b]"I think it's not something you want to focus too much on, surrounding the history.[/b][/p][p][b]"That's all part of it, and that's what you guys (in the media) will talk about, the fans will be involved in.[/b][/p][p][b]"But 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 - like many different teams you come up against throughout your whole career.[/b][/p][p][b]"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."[/b][/p][h2]Kane vs Messi[/h2][p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayern-munich/nVp0wiqd/"]Bayern Munich[/a] forward comes up against Golden Boot rival [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Lionel Messi[/a], who is facing England for the first time in his long career.[/p][p]The Argentinian maestro, 39, has eight goals so far, two more than Kane, but the England forward said his team would be focused on Argentina as a team rather than on their star player.[/p][p][b]"We know how good a player he is, we know what he's done in the game, how consistent he's been for so long,"[/b] said Kane, who was top scorer at the 2018 World Cup.[/p][p][b]"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."[/b][/p][image alt="Winning probability" id="0d2eb5c2-8e6d-43c5-9f4b-b9ef3abde067" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="869a183a-de2c-4149-8d28-33f25e06ade9" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Kane, 32, downplayed the disagreement between manager Thomas Tuchel and midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bellingham-jude/QNvlPm7s/"]Jude Bellingham[/a] after the German criticised England's performance in the quarter-final against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/norway/8rP6JO0H/"]Norway[/a].[/p][p][b]"We know what we have, we know the togetherness we have, we all push each other, we all drive each other,"[/b] said the skipper.[/p][p][b]"It doesn't mean we have to agree on every situation, all the time. I think that's what makes the boss so unique and so great, because he wears his heart on his sleeve, he's emotional, he says it how it is.[/b][/p][p][b]"Sometimes in the moment it might be hard to take, but when you actually digest it and explain it, we're all professionals, we're all here because we've been pushed to a level that we can take.[/b][/p][p][b]"We can take criticism. We can take it on the chin, it improves us, it makes us better."[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/argentina-f9OppQjp/england-j9N9ZNFA/?mid=pKVyGJbD"]Follow England v Argentina with Flashscore here![/a][/b][/p]