On July 15, 2026, Argentina’s national team beat England 2-1 in the World Cup semifinal match in Atlanta, Georgia, advancing to the final against Spain. It was a stunning victory since Argentina trailed England 1-0 for most of the game but scored two goals within seven minutes at the very end of the match. A moment minutes after the end of the match stood out as the most worth highlighting and is the reason for this post. The Argentine players, facing thousands of jubilant fans in the Atlanta stadium, unfurled a banner that read in Spanish: “LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS” (The Malvinas Belong to Argentina), drawing louder cheers from the stands. This article provides historical background to this conflict.
They are called ‘Falkland Islands’ the same way Palestine is called ‘Israel’.
But the name “las Malvinas” came from colonial rule too, just French instead of British. And I don’t want to sound like I think the islands should belong to the UK, because I don’t, but the Palestine comparison is pretty gauche because these islands were uninhabited before Europeans settled them. If we’re framing it as natives vs invaders, then in this instance the natives are British.