Former England defender Jamie Carragher says Thomas Tuchel’s team will be “coming up against arguably the greatest player of all time” when they face Argentina star Lionel Messi on Wednesday evening.
The Three Lions saw off Norway in a battling 2-1 win in the quarter-finals of World Cup 2026 on the night of Saturday, July 11 – and now they face Messi and co in the semi-finals in Atlanta (kick-off 8pm UK time, July 15).
Carragher knows England need to ‘make a plan’ to contain the threat posed by the talismanic Messi, who has bagged eight goals in the tournament so far.
But the ex-Liverpool defender also says they should be looking to exploit Messi’s lacklustre defensive work when Argentina are out of possession.
Tuchel must be the man with a plan
“There has to be a plan. I don’t think it will be a man-marking job, but they need a plan,” Carragher told Sky Sports.
“The players will be expecting that. It’s not admitting defeat in any way.
“You’re coming up against arguably the greatest player of all time. He has shown that in this tournament too.
“They should be thinking about how they can exploit Lionel Messi as well.
“He walks about when the opposition have got the ball, so that doesn’t mean England’s left-back should stand next to him for the whole of the game.
“They can exploit the fact that Argentina only defend with nine outfield players.”
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Not much between the teams
Bookmakers have Tuchel’s England at 8/5 to secure a place in the World Cup final with a win, with the draw priced at 9/5 and an Argentina victory available at 2/1.
“I don’t think there’s too much between the teams,” added Carragher.
“I’m hoping that this game has got elements of the Croatia game in it, where you’re playing against a side who fancy themselves as a good team.
“I certainly don’t think they’ll be getting everybody behind the ball.
“They’ll try to tackle us, and will that leave space for ourselves to attack?
“Their full-backs like to go high and wide, but they don’t really play with wingers, so maybe that’s something we can exploit.
“I’m hoping that it’s a different type of game than what we’ve seen from the majority of England games throughout this competition.
“I still don’t think England have been anywhere near the best in performance-wise.”
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Liam McLaughlan 
Aidan Leo