Argentina and England, tonight, renew their fierce rivalry for the second time in a matter of days.
Saturday’s rugby Nations Championship showdown in Santiago del Estero comes hot on the heels of Argentina’s dramatic comeback win in the men’s football World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday night.
Steve Borthwick’s side will hope to restore some English pride against the Pumas in what is the final game of the opening portion of the inaugural Northern Hemisphere vs Southern Hemisphere competition.
England make the long trip to South America with some confidence restored after a 73-8 demolition of woeful Fiji last weekend in what was technically an away game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool, running in 11 tries in total including a memorable hat-trick for Henry Pollock and debut scores from both Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Noah Caluori.
It was a badly-needed victory that eased some of the mounting pressure on Borthwick, who had previously overseen five consecutive defeats including a 45-21 thrashing by South Africa and England’s worst-ever Six Nations campaign.
But they now step back up a level against Argentina, who bounced back from their 47-38 home defeat by Scotland with a 35-21 win over Wales last weekend.
Argentina vs England date, kick-off time and venue
Argentina vs England in the Nations Championship takes place today, Saturday, July 18 2026, with kick-off scheduled for 8:10pm BST. That is 4:10pm local time.
The match is being held at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, Argentina.
How to watch Argentina vs England
TV channel: The game is being broadcast live and free to air in the UK on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 7:30pm BST.
Live stream: You can also watch the match live online via the ITVX website and app, which is free with a registration.
Live blog: Follow game updates on Saturday night with Standard Sport’s live blog.
Argentina vs England team news
Borthwick has named an unchanged England side following the thrashing of Fiji, with Pollock remaining on the bench despite his hat-trick last time out and no first starts just yet for Janse van Rensburg or Caluori.
There will be another debut when Emmanuel Iyogun comes on, with the Northampton loosehead having replaced last week’s first-timer George Kloska among the replacements.
Alex Mitchell suffered a hamstring injury against Fiji and has not travelled to Argentina, with Ben Spencer now backing up starting scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet.
Also on the England bench is Tom Curry, who clashed angrily with Pumas head coach Felipe Contepomi in the tunnel following November’s feisty autumn international contest at Twickenham.
Argentina show two changes from the team that brushed aside Wales, with Bristol’s Matias Moroni replacing Saracens’ Lucio Cinti at outside centre.
Mayco Vivas is in for Boris Wenger at loosehead, while Gloucester team-mate Matias Alemanno retains his place in the second row after clearing concussion protocols.
Pedro Delgado, Efrain Elias and Joaquin Moro all come on to the bench as Francisco Coria Marchetti, Franco Molina and Ignacio Mendy drop out.
Argentina vs England lineups
Argentina XV: S Carreras; Delguy, Moroni, Piccardo, M Carreras; Albornoz, Garcia; Vivas, Montoya (c), Rapetti; Petti, Alemanno; Grondona, Kremer, Oviedo
Replacements: Ruiz, Wenger, Delgado, Elias, Matera, Moro, Benitez Cruz, Cinti
England XV: M Smith; Freeman, Slade, Atkinson, Feyi-Waboso; F Smith, Van Poortvliet; Genge, George (c), Heyes; Coles, Martin; Chessum, Pepper, Earl
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Iyogun, Opoku-Fordjour, Curry, Pollock, Spencer, Janse van Rensburg, Caluori
Argentina vs England head to head (h2h) history and results
England have won 15 of their previous 16 games against Argentina, including the last five in a row since a shock 30-29 defeat at Twickenham in the autumn of 2022.
The last meeting was in November, when England won 27-23. They also won both tests on tour last summer, without their British and Irish Lions contingent.
Argentina wins: 5
England wins: 24
Draws: 1
Argentina vs England prediction
The World Cup semi-final drama has added an extra edge to this already spicy fixture, with Argentina eager to inflict a second painful defeat on their old rivals in the space of just four days.
England can expect a fervent and partisan football-like atmosphere, having moved their hotel in Buenos Aires in order to avoid any potential celebrations if Argentina beat Spain in the final on Sunday.
If they can deal with that, and buoyed by a thumping success over an admittedly abject Fiji, we anticipate a nail-biter that could go right down to the wire, with England edging a ferocious contest to restore some feel-good factor under Borthwick.
England to win, by three points.
Argentina vs England match odds
Argentina to win: 6/5
England to win: 8/11
Draw: 20/1
Odds via UK betting sites (subject to change).
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