Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: \u201cThanks to the World Cup, we\u2019ve seen millions of extra pints sold off the back of home nations matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the nail-biting stakes, we expect Wednesday to be the most successful night of the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
The English side are facing the reigning champions led by Lionel Messi<\/a>, in what will probably be his last World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n The intense rivalry between the two nations draws on the history of the 1982 Falklands conflict and Diego Maradona\u2019s<\/a> infamous \u201cHand of God\u201d goal<\/a> against England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fans have described this week\u2019s game as \u201crevenge\u201d for that match. On that occasion, Maradona scored a goal with his hand, just four minutes before producing the \u201cgoal of the century\u201d, dribbling 60m past several England players before finishing.<\/p>\n A diplomatic row has erupted in the run-up to this week\u2019s game, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hitting back at Buenos Aires after Argentina\u2019s foreign minister claimed Falklanders were \u201cartificially implanted\u201d on the islands.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the UK boss of the brewer behind Estrella claimed last week that the summer\u2019s sun-drenched World Cup is all that is keeping Britain\u2019s beleaguered pubs alive.<\/p>\n Luke White, managing director of Damm UK, warned that margins were \u201crazor thin\u201d but added that football-driven spikes in sales were \u201chelping keep some pubs afloat\u201d.<\/p>\n World Cup games, along with the heatwave, have sent people flocking to beer gardens. As many as one million pints were believed to have been sold during England\u2019s victory over Mexico in the early hours of last Monday.<\/p>\n Starmer had introduced emergency powers allowing British pubs to stay open through the night.<\/p>\n \u2013 Daily Telegraph UK<\/p>\n