Thomas Tuchel is gearing up for a formidable challenge as England prepares to take on Argentina in the World Cup semi-final scheduled for Wednesday in Atlanta. This match represents the sixth encounter between the two nations in World Cup history, with their last three meetings occurring following the 1982 Falklands War.
The quarter-final in 1986 remains particularly infamous, marked by Diego Maradona’s controversial ‘Hand of God’ goal, which helped Argentina secure a 2-1 victory en route to their championship title. In the 1998 World Cup, Argentina triumphed in a penalty shootout after a dramatic clash that saw David Beckham receive a red card; however, Beckham made amends in 2002 by scoring a penalty in a 1-0 win during the group stage. England has claimed victories in this rivalry as well, winning 3-1 in the 1962 group phase and 1-0 in the 1966 quarter-finals, ultimately leading them to that year’s championship.
Tuchel recognizes the fierce motivation driving the Argentine team, who are determined to defend the title they won in 2022, especially as they aim to provide a memorable send-off for Lionel Messi, expected to be participating in his final World Cup.
Following Argentina’s 3-1 quarter-final triumph over Switzerland, some players celebrated in the locker room with a chant referencing the Falklands War, expressing their intention to win the World Cup “Las Malvinas, por Diego and por la ultima de Leo” – translating to “for the Falklands, for Diego and for Leo’s last”
When discussing the competitive nature of this upcoming fixture, Tuchel remarked, “I know some of the players, I coached some of the players,”
“They’re almost the same group as four years ago. You can see the cohesion, you can see the sacrifice that they put into it. They believe in their style. And their style is a very emotional style. It was in Qatar and it is now.
“I can sense it. You can see it. They have this kind of edge. You can sense it when they’re going a goal down, when matches are tight. “They’re almost the same group as four years ago. You can see the cohesion, you can see the sacrifice that they put into it. They believe in their style. And their style is a very emotional style. It was in Qatar and it is now. “And, of course, history … they are also fuelled by that. They are fuelled by history, it means a lot to them. So this is what we basically expect, and what we are up against. But we are also emotional, we have the grit, we have the mentality that it takes to go up against it. And we are ready for it.”
Tuchel also clarified that there are no lingering issues between him and Jude Bellingham. After England’s 2-1 extra-time win against Norway in the quarter-finals, Tuchel had expressed concerns regarding the technical aspects of his team’s performance. Bellingham, who netted both goals in that match, felt slighted upon hearing this critique, suggesting that Tuchel might not fully grasp the intensity of such games.
“He [Bellingham] was just confronted with a critique of my side. I [also] called him a world-class player. I said he had world-class actions again to decide the match. I said the mentality is outstanding of this team. All of that was not part of the question. “I would maybe also bite back when I come from 120 minutes, score two goals and give literally everything that is in my body. It’s just a very normal reaction for a player of his mindset. So no problem. “I spoke to the whole team. We debriefed [the game]. I spoke to the whole team after in the dressing room, which was basically the same message. And I explained it again on Sunday evening to just move on forward. Then, in the [same] talk, we put on a new direction, a new head, which is semi-final and Argentina.”
Tuchel mentioned that he addressed the entire team about the match, reiterating the same message during a debriefing session. He underscored the importance of concentrating on the forthcoming semi-final against Argentina.
Defender Marc Guéhi contributed to the psychological aspect of the match by asserting that the pressure falls on Argentina to uphold their title. “There isn’t pressure on us,” he stated. “What’s the pressure? The onus is on them. They’re the world champions. They need to come out, they need to defend their title. There’s no pressure on us at all.”
Having recovered from a hamstring injury, Guéhi is expected to maintain his central defensive partnership with John Stones, while Ezri Konsa is set to compete with Reece James for the right-back position. Konsa, who played full-back against Norway, acknowledged that he had not observed much of Argentina’s playing style.
“We haven’t managed to watch any of their games,” he noted. “I’m sure when we have the meeting tonight or tomorrow we’ll see some clips of them and see what we can do to overcome them.”
