SAPPORO (Japan), June 6: World Cup favourites Argentina renew their bitter soccer rivalry with England under the Sapporo Dome on Friday in the highlight match of the tournament’s first round.

Victory would guarantee Argentina a place in the next round after their 1-0 defeat of Nigeria on Sunday. Defeat for England, who drew 1-1 with Sweden, would consign them to a desperate fight for survival against the Nigerians in their last group F match.

But the match is about far more than points, far more than soccer 20 years after the two countries went to war over the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands.

England are determined to avenge two successive World Cup defeats by the Argentines, featuring hugely controversial contributions by two of the biggest names in soccer, Diego Maradona and David Beckham.

In St Etienne four years ago, Beckham — now the England captain — was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone and England were beaten in a penalty shoot-out.

In the 1986 quarter-final Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal put his team ahead before his astonishing second goal, voted recently the best in Cup history, put the game beyond England’s reach.

Five players on each side will be renewing their acquaintance from the second round match in France that remained locked at 2-2 after extra time.

Simeone and Beckham will once more line up in midfield while Michael Owen — scorer of a sensational goal in St Etienne at the age of 18 — and Gabriel Batistuta will again lead the two attacks.

Argentina would have fielded another veteran of the 1998 clash in captain Roberto Ayala but he is not being risked after sustaining a thigh injury warming up before the Nigeria match.

Argentina will start with the team that began the second half against Nigeria.

Kily Gonzalez starts on the left of the attack, having given Argentina more variety as a second half substitute for Claudio Lopez in the 1-0 win Sunday.

The team announced by coach Marcelo Bielsa is otherwise the same after Juan Pablo Sorin and Ariel Ortega were passed fit following minor knocks against the Nigerians.

“After the (Nigeria) match I was left with the feeling that Kily should play,” Bielsa told a news conference.

“Neither Ortega nor Sorin trained normally these last days (since Monday), but in principle they’re fit and it’s important that they play,” he said.

“Sorin got a knock on the calf (muscle) but has recovered satisfactorily and can play tomorrow.”

Diego Placente retains his place on the left of the back three with Walter Samuel again standing in for Ayala as sweeper.

Bielsa said the match with England, steeped in an enmity exacerbated by the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas war, “is just another match, although a match with a lot of history, we’re not unaware of that. It accentuates the antagonism.

“It’s going to be more intense than against Nigeria, which was calmer, the players are going to run more metres and at greater speed,” he said.

Bielsa said his team have prepared for the aerial problems England are expected to pose.

“They are not only good headers, but also good with the long ball. This is going to be a very good test for us in that sense.”

England are likely to drop striker Darius Vassell, one of their best players against Sweden, to make room on the left side of midfield for Kieron Dyer, who has recovered from a knee injury and came on as a substitute against Sweden.

Dyer’s return to a midfield overrun by Sweden will allow Emile Heskey to link with Owen up front.

The experienced Nicky Butt should replace 21-year-old Owen Hargreaves, joining his Manchester United team mates David Beckham and Paul Scholes against a midfield directed by another club colleague, Juan Sebastian Veron, who captains Argentina in Ayala’s absence.

Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson warned England they would be beaten by Argentina if they repeated their poor second half performance in the 1-1 draw against Sweden.

“Hopefully, we will be play better football and not just for 45 minutes. We need to play for 90 minutes to get a good result against Argentina,” he told reporters on Thursday.

“It’s a very difficult game, an important game and we have to get a result if we want to play in the World Cup after the 12th of June,” Eriksson said after a training session.

“We know it’s difficult, they’re one of the best teams in the world. But hopefully it’s not going to be easy for them.”

More than any provocation, Eriksson sees the main danger from Argentina being the strength of the squad, and in particular, striker Gabriel Batistuta who scored the winner against Nigeria.—Reuters