Pub locals on the Falklands say they're convinced England will 'send the Argentinians back home' with World Cup victory and laugh at their latest claim to the islands

Published: 10:51, 14 July 2026 | Updated: 10:58, 14 July 2026 Pub locals on the Falklands say they are convinced England will 'send the Argentines back' with a World Cup victory, with some laughing at their latest claims of sovereignty over the islands.  The match, which kicks off at 8pm in London and 4pm 8,000 miles away in Port Stanley, will see a hush descend over streets in the far-flung islands in the South Atlantic. Extra beer has been drafted in and many of the remote British dependency’s population will be in the capital’s two main pubs The Victory Bar and The Rose Bar. The game - which has added intensity given the conflict between Britain and Argentina over the Falklands - comes after the South American country's foreign minister Pablo Quirno reaffirmed their claim to the islands. He said that 'time does not transform an illegitimate occupation into sovereignty,' adding it was a 'breach of Argentina's territorial integrity following the British occupation of 1833'. Quirno argued that the principle of self-determination does not apply in this case, on the grounds that the Falkland Islands current population was 'implanted' by the occupying power and therefore cannot decide the territory's ownership.  Sheila Harvey, landlady of The Rose Bar, who was born and bred on the Falkland Islands, told the Daily Mail: 'Well, I can tell you one thing, that's just not happening we are British and British we are going to stay.' She added: 'I will be showing the game and I am expecting it to be packed out - we've had good crowds for all the England games as you would expect. Pub locals on the Falklands say they are convinced England will 'send the Argentines back' with a World Cup victory, laughing at their latest claims of sovereignty over the islands Extra beer has been drafted in and many of the remote British dependency’s population will be in capital’s two main pubs The Victory Bar and The Rose Bar Royal Marine Peter Robinson carrying the Union Jack as he marched towards Stanley in the final hours of the Falklands War in June 1982 'But as the tournament has gone on, we've been getting more and more people, so I will be opening early and getting some extra stock in just to make sure we don't run out. 'It's going to be a tense affair given the history between them and us but I'm pretty confident we will win and so are all my regulars.' Sheila, who was seven in 1982, at the time of the invasion shared two pictures on her social media which mocked up Harry Kane, Dan Burn, Jordan Pickford as Royal Marines in a photograph captured at the time of British forces going into battle on the Falklands. Another picture showed the England team marching in a line along a muddy track with Kane at the back, with an England flag flying from his rucksack which was reminiscent of another iconic picture of 45 Commando marching towards Port Stanley in 1982. Sheila added: 'I am born and bred Falkland Islands, I was seven in 1982 so only a little girl but we lived over at Hill Cove at the time so didn't really see any of the fighting. 'For obvious reasons no one wants to lose this game, we all want to see England win and send the Argentines back home. 'I will be selling cans at £2 a go and pints for £4 so it will be a great afternoon and hopefully a better evening. 'Wednesday is going to be epic. Bringing it on, it's Coming Home at long last after 60 years of hurt.' Staff at The Victory Bar also confirmed they were planning to show the match, with one telling the Daily Mail: 'It's going to get quite lively in here for obvious reasons. 'There's obviously a lot of history between the two countries and it goes back a long way, I'm just hoping there's no bother and England win and get into the final.' On its Facebook page The Victory Bar has a photo of a key ring with the infamous H982 FLK number plate that Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson had on a Porsche when he and the team drove through Argentina for one episode. The 2014 episode sparked massive protests and violent confrontations and although Clarkson and his team insisted it was merely a coincidence, they had to flee the country and leave their vehicles. A caption under the picture on the pub's Facebook page reads: 'Clarkson pissed off more Argies than Thatcher' and the key ring is a highly sought after souvenir. On the island's main Facebook page, the fresh Argentine claim to the Falklands was also mentioned, one saying under a news article about it: 'Need to give them short shrift. Send them packing on Wednesday.' Carol Phillips, who lives on the Falkland Islands, wrote: 'They need to get over themselves and start running their own country properly.' Mel Lloyd, from Goose Green, the scene of a fierce battle in 1982, said: 'Both myself and my wife's ancestors have been here since the 1800s. 'We were not placed here by the British. They came and settled and we are still here.' Robin Goodwin, of Port Stanley, expressed his gratitude to a veteran for his contribution to the fighting in 1982 and added: 'Thank you sir for putting yourself on the line for us in 1982 and everyone else that came and liberated us from that mad lunatic regime. 'And our heartfelt condolences to everyone that paid the ultimate sacrifice. We love you all.' MPs and the Argentine Foreign Ministry are demanding to know why a Royal Navy ship, HMS Medway, which is stationed in the South Atlantic to keep an eye on the Falklands, sailed through its waters without prior warning in a breach of guidelines set up after the 1982 war. The Foreign Office has denied the claim and insisted the British Embassy in Buenos Aires passed on the ship's itinerary, but this is being furiously disputed by Argentina. HMS Medway was enroute from the Falkland Islands to the port of Punta Arenas, earlier this month when Argentinian authorities say she breached an agreement by not giving warning of the transit. Argentina says she sailed into its waters off the coast of Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego, off the southern tip of the country, before heading to Punta Arenas for logistics purposes. The controversy quickly escalated to a provincial level with the government of Tierra del Fuego joining in the condemnation through its Secretary for the Malvinas, Andrés Dachary, who described the movement as a 'blatant provocation' in a region that holds strategic fishing, energy, and Antarctic resources. Argentinian MP Guillermo Michel has demanded that Buenos Aires follows up through diplomatic channels in London to establish exactly what happened.