England vs Argentina semi-final tickets hit £215,000 as fans accuse FIFA of exploitation

Fans hoping to attend England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday face resale prices as high as $287,500 (£214,927) on FIFA’s official ticket marketplace, with even the cheapest upper-tier seats listed from $3,105 (£2,321).

The staggering figures have drawn fierce criticism from supporters, with England fans’ ticket account England_Tic on X accusing the governing body of exploiting the sport’s most passionate followers. The account shared a screenshot showing ‘supporter value’ tier seats — originally priced at $60 — being relisted from $3,737.50, with FIFA collecting a 15 per cent fee from both buyer and seller on every transaction.

“Once in a lifetime. Bucket list stuff,” the account posted. “The games where FIFA can exploit ‘the beautiful game’ and its passionate fanbases. FIFA don’t want supporters to attend — they want them to sell their tickets. #greed.”

FIFA’s official resale platform splits tickets into four categories, with category one covering seats closest to the pitch and category four the most affordable positions in the upper tier. Despite that designation, category-four prices range from $3,105 to $40,250 (£30,000), and the 15 per cent buyer-and-seller fee adds a further $1,121 to the cheapest available listing alone.

England secured their place in the last four after Jude Bellingham scored twice as Thomas Tuchel’s side came from behind to beat Norway. The Real Madrid midfielder cancelled out Andreas Schjelderup’s first-half opener before completing the turnaround.

Defending champions Argentina advanced after a dramatic extra-time victory over Switzerland. Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring, but Switzerland equalised through Nottingham Forest’s Dan Ndoye. The tie shifted decisively when Breel Embolo was sent off for a second bookable offence — becoming the first player dismissed under the new VAR mistaken-identity rule after he was adjudged to have dived following a challenge from Leandro Paredes. Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez then struck in extra-time to seal Argentina’s place in the semi-final.

The winners will face either France or their opponents from the other side of the draw in the final.