England vs Argentina: Messi Faces the Three Lions After 27-Goal Record Versus English Clubs
by Geoffrey Ejiga | by Geoffrey Ejiga
The Rivalry That Has Waited 21 Years for This
England and Argentina have met at the World Cup five times before today, and each meeting has left a scar. The 1966 quarter-final, where Argentina captain Antonio Rattin was sent off and England manager Alf Ramsey called the opposition "animals."
The 1986 quarter-final, where Maradona's Hand of God and Goal of the Century defined an entire generation's relationship with football.
The 1998 round of 16, where Michael Owen announced himself and David Beckham's red card sent England home in tears.
And 2002, where Beckham stepped up to score the penalty that avenged the heartbreak of four years earlier. They have not faced each other since. Twenty-one years of silence end today in Atlanta, with a place in the World Cup final at stake.
And in a detail that still surprises: despite 27 goals against English clubs at club level, Messi has never actually played against England in senior international football. Today is the first time.
For England, reaching the final would be their first since winning the tournament in 1966, sixty years ago. For Argentina, it would be their fourth straight competition final across two World Cups and two Copa Americas.
England: Kane, Bellingham, and a Team That Keeps Finding a Way
Thomas Tuchel's side have not had a comfortable knockout match yet, and at this point, that might be their greatest strength. They came from behind against DR Congo to win 2-1 in the Round of 32, then beat Mexico 3-2 at the Azteca with ten men in the Round of 16.
Against Norway in the quarter-final, they trailed after Andreas Schjelderup's opener. Before Jude Bellingham equalised in first-half stoppage time and then scored again three minutes into extra time to complete a 2-1 comeback.
Bellingham and Harry Kane have scored six goals each at this tournament, accounting for 12 of England's 13 goals. No other partnership left in the competition comes close to that level of combined output.
Kane bagged most of his in the group stage, while Bellingham has stepped up decisively in every knockout round.
Two Concerns for Tuchel
Jarell Quansah is suspended, serving the second match of a two-game ban for his red card against Mexico. Declan Rice was substituted at half-time in the Norway match while battling illness and an underlying fitness issue and remains a doubt for today.
Argentina: Messi's Final Act
Messi has scored eight goals at this tournament, leading the Golden Boot race and extending his career World Cup total to 21, the highest in the history of the competition. He scored in every match from the group stage through the Round of 16, including a hat-trick against Algeria and both goals in the 3-2 win over Egypt.
The quarter-final against Switzerland was the first time he failed to score, but he still provided the assist for Alexis Mac Allister's opener before Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez finished the job in extra time.
At 39, Messi is playing what is almost certainly his last World Cup. The run to this semi-final has been anything but serene.
Argentina needed extra time against Cabo Verde in the Round of 32 and again against Switzerland in the quarter-finals. Lionel Scaloni admitted after the Cabo Verde scare that his team were "defending like a cornered cat" in the closing stages, with substitutes exhausted and players cramping.
Tuchel, for his part, has not been afraid to criticise his own side's performances even in victory. After the Norway quarter-final, he described England's display as "sloppy," "not fast enough" and full of "technical mistakes." Whether that frankness is designed to sharpen his players or manage expectations, it captures a team that knows it has been winning ugly and cannot afford to do so again today.
"It was sloppy, not fast enough and with technical mistakes." (Thomas Tuchel, after England's quarter-final win over Norway)
