The Falklands conflict of 1982 was clearly on the minds of some Argentina fans at their opening game against Nigeria in Ibaraki where one banner read: ‘‘Malvinas, we will return.’’

And Veron’s thinly-veiled reference suggests it may also be in the thoughts of the players.

Valencia defender Roberto Ayala, who is struggling to be fit to face England after missing the Nigeria game, refers to England-Argentina matches as ‘‘a derby in the Argentina v Brazil mould’’.

The Falklands conflict was sparked when Argentina invaded the South Atlantic islands to pursue a sovereignty claim over the territories they call ‘Las Malvinas’ and Britain went to war in a successful bid to reclaim them.

Since then Argentina have twice enjoyed notable revenge on the football field - the quarter-final win at Mexico 1986 featuring Maradona’s ‘hand of God’ goal and a wonderful second strike, and the penalty shoot-out victory at France 1998 when England players were annoyed at post-match gloating by Argentina players on their team coach.

Veron’s comments follow hot on the heels of those from Celta Vigo keeper Pablo Cavallero, who said:‘‘Maybe you shouldn’t mix things like football and the war, but it’s really hard not to do it.

‘‘It is the match that any Argentinian wants to play, especially if you lost friends or family in 1982.’’

Veron, who will skipper Argentina again if Ayala fails to recover, insists Marcelo Bielsa’s men can

improve on their performance against Nigeria, which has to be bad news for England and Veron’s United team-mate David Beckham.

‘‘We can feel confident as we head for the match with England,’’ said Veron.

‘‘It’s going to be really hard for anyone to beat us and we can make things easier for ourselves in that we can still step up our game a notch or two.’’

Bielsa, for his part, is being diplomatic claiming he ‘‘admires the English players for their individuality and their conduct’’.