final: England v Argentina set to boost pub beer sales

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “Thanks to the World Cup, we’ve seen millions of extra pints sold off the back of home nations matches.

“Given the nail-biting stakes, we expect Wednesday to be the most successful night of the tournament.”

The English side are facing the reigning champions led by Lionel Messi, in what will probably be his last World Cup.

The intense rivalry between the two nations draws on the history of the 1982 Falklands conflict and Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal against England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup.

Fans have described this week’s game as “revenge” for that match. On that occasion, Maradona scored a goal with his hand, just four minutes before producing the “goal of the century”, dribbling 60m past several England players before finishing.

A diplomatic row has erupted in the run-up to this week’s game, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hitting back at Buenos Aires after Argentina’s foreign minister claimed Falklanders were “artificially implanted” on the islands.

Meanwhile, the UK boss of the brewer behind Estrella claimed last week that the summer’s sun-drenched World Cup is all that is keeping Britain’s beleaguered pubs alive.

Luke White, managing director of Damm UK, warned that margins were “razor thin” but added that football-driven spikes in sales were “helping keep some pubs afloat”.

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’s victory over Mexico in the early hours of last Monday.

Starmer had introduced emergency powers allowing British pubs to stay open through the night.

– Daily Telegraph UK

Click here to read article