World Cup 2026: Argentina and Lionel Messi will bring out the best in England, says Thomas Tuchel ahead of semi-final | Football news
Thomas Tuchel believes the challenge of Argentina and Lionel Messi will bring out the best in his England team.
England is scheduled to face rivals Argentina in the semi-finals of the World Cup on Wednesday, with the winner facing Spain in the final on Sunday.
Tuchel was critical of the football produced by his team during their quarter-final extra-time victory over Norway but expects a better performance from his players when they meet their rivals in the big league.
“We had a lot of technical errors in our last game that prevented us from finding a rhythm,” explained Tuchel. “We rushed to make decisions, not being patient enough or disciplined enough and it cost us the rhythm.
“We improved in the competition by defending and defending as a team, this is something we need at the highest level [against Argentina].
“Acceleration, combined with technical performance, must be at a high level. [from Argentina] it will bring good to us and good to our players.”
On the magnitude of the event and the opportunity to hold a big victory, Tuchel added: “We know we are here, we have never been ashamed to expect that from ourselves and dream of it.
“We are in the semi finals and we come hungry, we want to win the next one.
“It’s a big football game but we’re very happy and ready to go.”
To stop Argentina, England will have to stop Lionel Messi. The Argentina captain continues to excel and tops the World Cup goalscoring chart with eight goals in his impressive campaign.
Tuchel admitted that he has thought of a way to stop Messi but says that in the end England will aim to force their game against Argentina.
“I’ve been thinking about this, even if we make it an old-school man’s mark,” smiled Tuchel. “I am not sure if we follow this idea but it came to my mind.
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Kaveh Solhekol has unveiled his expected England squad to face Argentina as a number of players push to make Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI.
“Everyone knows the spaces they want to appear in, if you analyze the matches you see things quickly, the ball falls to him and he finds a space.
“We have found patterns in their games but if you stop the pattern, they will find a new one. It is very different to play against the reigning champions and Lionel Messi. A big game in a big tournament.”
Summarizing the challenge, Tuchel said: “There is a lot to look at. We are here to play our way and impose our style.
“We are here to play the semi-final in our own way. We know how big the question is but we are ready for it.”
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A reminder of where and when the England v Argentina semi-final is taking place and, if they get there, when you should make a note in your diary for the final.
Tuchel: We can’t say it’s another game
When asked about the history of the match between England and Argentina, Tuchel admitted that the game has a special meaning – even more than the semi-final of the World Cup. However, he insists that past events will not be a distraction.
“I can say that it is useless, but I am not sure,” he said. “The players know what it means to them. When a game has amazing moments you can’t say it’s just another football game.
“My team and I do not talk about historical events, the tension is big enough.
“We try to minimize the information as the stage gets bigger and the tension. The size of the game is what it is, it doesn’t help if we get involved.”
