It was perhaps appropriate that this match in Le Havre became a battle ground. Blitzed by the allied armies in 1944, the port city is no stranger to the term. And here, amid the concrete rebuild, in a blue lagoon of a stadium, the Argentinians went to war with England.
This fixture does not have the deep historic rivalry of the men’s. If anything the talk post-draw was dominated by Scotland and 2015 semi-final opponents Japan, there was bad blood in the group. Argentina were small fry, the whipping boys – or girls – that would surely guarantee a third-place finisher from Group D.
But perhaps some of the talk of what Argentina meant in the men’s game in the buildup to this fixture – of Michael Owen’s goal in 1998, David Beckham’s penalty in 2002, or the hand of God all featuring – bridged the gender divide, and Argentina were taking no prisoners.
There were early signs that the players in blue and white were out to frustrate, one repeatedly backing into Jill Scott, treading on her toes, received an angry shove in retaliation from the usually cool-headed Manchester City midfielder, who scored her first international goal in a 6-1 win in 2007 - their only previous meeting. Every throw, free-kick and goal-kick were taken agonisingly slowly.
If Argentina looked to frustrate, so had Fifa pre-match. England fans in Le Havre booked into the stadium hotel found their bookings cancelled and they were forced elsewhere, some an hour’s walk away from the ground in a city with a very low taxi count.
Lucy Bronze bore the brunt of Argentina’s attentions, repeatedly clattered as the Latin American side looked to cut off the Bronze and Nikita Parris axis so effective in England’s opener against Scotland.
Being upended by Eliana Stábile and landing heavily on her back and later almost rugby tackled to the ground by Aldana Cometti as she raced clear on the right were the highlights of the close coverage of the Lyon right-back.
The right was not the only front England had to fight on, in the middle Scott and Jade Moore were harassed, harried, pushed and shoved. However, for all the Argentinians looked to frustrate, it just seemed to spur the team in the custom made “red crush” kits on. Moore in particular turned, twisted, flicked and chipped her way away from the tight bodies around her, providing England’s sharpest creative moments early on.
The Lionesses’ midfield duo were not willing to lie down. They gave as good as they got, Moore slid in with a little more force than she perhaps needed to dispossess Argentina’s “La Messi” Estefanía Banini.
And Argentina’s attentions perhaps focused too much on the right, where Scott also had bright spells, taking advantage of the space created by the doubling up on Parris and Bronze. So much so that they relaxed a little on the left. Far from the frustrated figure she cut against Scotland, Beth Mead took advantage. The concerns of what would happen should teams close of the Lyon duo were answered by the young Arsenal winger on the other side of the pitch who earned Parris’s well-saved penalty in the first half and provided the pinpoint cross that has become such a strong feature of her game for Jodie Taylor’s 61st-minute goal.
The breach of the steely Argentina defence opened things up. Suddenly England had a little more room to play with, but still their opponents nipped at the Lionesses and Mead became the latest to feel the full force of their frustrations at conceding, Agustina Barroso going into the book for colliding heavily with the forward.
England took the three points and, in a new rivalry, the bragging rights but the guarantee of a best third-place finish many had written of, given the weakness of the fledgling and underfunded Argentina, looks less and less of an option for Scotland. The Lionesses, though, showed a side of themselves that had been a worry pre-tournament, they demonstrated that as well as matching the fight, they can find the spark and edge needed to break down teams that sit back and defend extremely deep and compact, and they did it when it mattered.
