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England manager Thomas Tuchel joked about Lionel Messi potentially coming into their semi-final clash against Argentina at less than 100%.
Another chapter of the iconic footballing rivalry between England and Argentina will enter the history books at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Ahead of Lionel Messi’s first-ever clash against England, manager Thomas Tuchel joked about the one thing he’s hoping happens to Messi before their clash on Wednesday.
Thomas Tuchel jokes about Lionel Messi hopefully catching a cold
When asked about what major Argentine strength he’d want to take away in the semi-final, Tuchel cracked a joke about Messi catching a cold before emphasizing he wants both teams at a 100%.
“Maybe that Messi will have a cold tomorrow. No no no, we wanna play against the strongest Argentina, and we want to be the strongest England. Of course we’ll try to beat them, we want to beat them, and we’ll try to find solutions. We want to take the advantages away on the field and be worthy winners.”
Tuchel’s joke might be a secret prayer, because if Messi isn’t at his best, England has a huge tactical edge in the clash.
Messi has been the primary orchestrator behind Argentina’s defense, creating most of their scoring opportunities while leading the tournament’s Golden Boot race with eight goals.
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He might not be his best version at 39 years old, but he’s still clearly among the best players in the world. Tuchel and the English defense will have their hands full with the Argentine legend.
Argentina’s biggest weakness seems to be their defense, so this could be a high-scoring affair where England tries to make Messi’s contributions irrelevant by simply outscoring their opponents.
Containing Argentina’s offensive engine might not be possible, so wrecking their backline might be a smart bet for this historic semi-final clash.
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