Read for 5 minutesUpdated: 14 July 2026 07:34 PM IST
Managers, as managers are, were not happy with their troops in the quarter-finals.
“I’m not happy with the performance in every sense,” lamented England boss Thomas Tuchel. “The commitment is there, but we made life very difficult for ourselves in the way we played, the way we played. Lazy, not fast enough. Not enough repetition. We were lucky today,” he said, much to the delight of the afternoon’s hero Jude Bellingham.
Hours later, in subdued tones, the Argentina supremo acknowledged his side’s struggles to overcome Switzerland, despite being down to 10 men. “It was very difficult for us to win a duel, to put more than five or six passes together,” he said. He didn’t say his team was lucky, but “we finally found a solution.” The team’s run to the semi-finals was historic, he stressed, “but we should have played better.”
Unlike France and Spain, smooth ships, Argentina and England Braving literal and metaphorical storms, enduring fiercely, crossing the line on the strength of personal witchcraft and moments of defiance tied by a thread of positive volatility, they reached the Final Four.
England outlasted Mexico with ten men for 30 minutes; They went 0-1 against Congo DR in the last 15 minutes; Norway looked lost until Jude Bellingham intervened. Argentina survived two extra-time scares and a late comeback against Egypt. Individuals have seized the moment. Harry Kane v Congo, Bellingham v Norway; Lionel Messi in almost every game, including Julian Alvarez against Switzerland.
Creates an imbalance between the midfield and the flanks. Argentina’s midfield looks tired. Fatigue crippled Leandro Paredes and Rodrigo de Paul, both in their early 30s. Scored for Messi in two games decided in extra time. Finally contacted them. Paredes did not last the game against Switzerland, and when he was substituted, Argentina lost control in midfield and were fortunate to have numerical superiority. Head-to-head, the England midfield is a superior product, young, quick, strong and technically sound. But talisman Declan Rice is struggling with his fitness; Ebere’s Eze, short of cameos, never again flourished as he had in his Arsenal days; Elliott Anderson, for all his hard work, lacks Rice’s all-action-hero verve.
Peak Rice and Bucayo Saka would have been a different story and ragged could have run a tired Argentina midfield. Alexis McAllister and Enzo Fernandez are not accurate ball shields and are prone to dispossession under pressure and in quick transition, which Bellingham and co can orchestrate. Out of possession, McAllister and Fernandez can be a burden at times. But both have the knack of scoring from impossible situations. England will be licking their lips in excitement if the game gets more durability and physicality. Caution: Argentina have beaten far superior physical teams due to their aggressiveness.
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Both sides suffer from right side. England are worried about the right side. Winger Noni Maduke has pace, but lacks intensity and tends to lose the ball under pressure. His link at right-back is simple, heightened by England’s injury concerns. If Reece James, reduced to a substitute shift, starts and maintains his intensity, England could be faster and stronger in that side. But the Ezri Konsa, while aerially superior, can be thought provoking at times.
Argentina’s counterparts, Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel, ran out of steam with less than an hour to go. Both Egypt and Switzerland took advantage of their sensitivity. Nor can they be blamed, as they have to do the heavy-lifting of a largely immobile midfield, creating depth in the absence of natural wingers. England can increase the pace of the team. Nico O’Reilly and Anthony Gordon were able to put them to the sword with their blindness and trickery. England’s centre-back pairing is stronger and has depth in quality. If the match goes to extra time, England will have better reinforcements to rely on.
But for all England’s slight superiority in midfield, defence, physicality and height (Argentina’s 179.7cm to England’s 184.2cm), Argentina have a shorthand solution to all their problems: Lionel Messi. Teams can tie him up for 90 minutes and he can change a game in two seconds. He won’t be a relentless threat when he’s at his peak, but watch out when he gets into pockets of space out of bounds.
Limiting its impact requires a combination of luck and unwavering focus. The practical way, perhaps, is not to fixate on Messi and miss the rest of the plot. And minimize dead-ball situations, from where Messi’s delivery can be diabolical. Set-pieces have contributed to six of Argentina’s 17 goals (one-third). Although smaller than England, their aerial prowess is amazing.
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Therefore, an Argentina-England encounter may not be as pleasing to the purists as a Spain-France match. But there is a beauty in flawed grounds, in their unpredictability and imperfection, in moments of madness and magic, in the triumph of personalities over structures and systems, in the wild swings of fate. It can be strange and confusing, but also exciting. And leave something for the manager.