The truth about England v Argentina and where a chaotic World Cup semi-final will be decided

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The Independent

15 July 2026

As the world has honed in on the same patch of land in Atlanta, to the point that the FBI has discussed

England

Argentina

with new geopolitics about oil surrounding the Falklands, the two teams have just banded together in different ways.

They are all that matters here, after all. Not the history. Not the noise. Not the Falklands.

And, on that,

Thomas Tuchel

’s staff have intuited an opportunity. If it had been felt that

the post-Norway comments by the manager and Jude Bellingham might bring tension

- and potentially break “the brotherhood” - it has done the opposite.

Tuchel has opted for the oldest trick in sport, as

seek to scale new heights. There’s a classic “siege mentality”.

The players are said to have been

aggravated by some questions

- even if this feels unfair - and it’s allowed the creation of a vintage “external enemy”; exactly like what was showcased with Michael Jordan in The Last Dance.

This is tap-in sports psychology, and is an old trick because it works so well.

Argentina, of course, don’t need to create such a mood. They

always

have a siege mentality. As

Lionel Messi

carried the

World Cup

itself through the Lusail mixed zone back in 2022, they were singing about “* journalists” - many of whom were naturally celebrating the victory.

It’s just the same spirit that can be seen in the dressing room throughout this campaign, the entire squad jumping up and down together and singing about “Malvinas”. Those on the ground in

say significant sections of the country have gone into hysterics about the game.

open image in gallery

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane have guided

to the

semi-finals (PA Wire)

And if that has partly channeled into positive scenes like the supporter playing a trombone on the back of a motorbike in the middle of a throng of fans, it has also got to the point where the Falklands veterans have felt the need to issue a statement calming it all down.

“Sport is not war”, the

Federacion de Veteranos de Guerra de Malvinas

said, while pleading for calm and respect. “The semi-final is a sporting event of global scale, not an armed retaliation or a historic compensation.”

They echo the sentiments of Tuchel’s decent-minded counterpart, Lionel Scaloni, who has instead been trying to concentrate on banding the team together in a more technical way.

With

so conscious of England’s pace on the break - describing them as a side that “explodes” - their coaching staff have sought to make that compact middle even tighter.

Coaching staff have trained with Nicolas Otamendi in the place of Rodrigo De Paul.

England's

Jude Bellingham

during training (Reuters)

On the other side, Tuchel has been conscious of how that midfield can actually give

a greater control - of both territory and the ball, for whenever Messi decides to step up.

While it makes

quite a flat team, who almost completely lack England’s explosiveness, it does afford them numerical superiority in midfield.

And that is exactly where Tuchel has had increasing issues. Declan Rice looks set to start but, as with this whole

, a question persists over his fitness.

One consideration among Tuchel’s staff is whether Anthony Gordon - or whichever wide player it is - tucks in to match that, although it will make

less dangerous in transition.

There is also the expectation that Messi will drop back further to operate more as a playmaker, rather than the full forward he’s often been, to create more danger.

These are of course all the logical thought processes about the game, that are essential to preparation.

Argentina's

during a training session at Atlanta United Training Centre, Georgia (PA)

By the same token, logic suggests

have more players at a higher level, as well as more variety to their squad - if not someone like Messi.

Argentina are fortunate that Julian Alvarez and Lauturo Martinez have finally come to scoring form,

because they don’t have Tuchel’s options off the bench.

Except, all logic also indicates that this is going to become a match where logic ceases to apply, where mayhem again engulfs the teams.

For one, that’s been the case in most of their games so far, and every single one of the knock-outs.

Regardless of the base quality of either squad, the reality is they are

two highly dysfunctional teams

, and that has led to a series of erratically entertaining games.

A constant feeling with both is that they have a number of flaws that an elite side will eventually expose, and yet here they are, together trying to get up to the highest of stages.

Maybe one finally collapses, and the other cuts loose.

Maybe there’s another comeback.

Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez have displayed Argentina’s fearless mindset (Reuters)

The truth is almost anything is possible here, in a way you wouldn’t usually say about a

semi-final. It feeds into the tactical uniqueness of this competition, especially in comparison to previous World Cups. Chaos has reigned in a way we’ve almost never seen.

It seems impossible the same won’t happen again, especially given the wider context.

The previous matches have already been hysterical enough on their own, and none of them have had anything close to the emotional depth - and potential heights - of this one. Not even the Azteca.

Mexico didn’t care about Las Malvinas, in a way

now seems obsessed with - to the point of uniting both left and right in the country.

The trip to the Azteca nevertheless sharpened the memories around this meeting, and especially the touchstone of Diego Maradona and the 1986 quarter-final.

This match genuinely has the potential to go further in terms of epic drama and longer in terms of time. The more apt comparison may actually be 1998, especially for the prospect of penalties. And there will surely be a red card. Tuchel has already told his players to be mindful of this.

Do not expect much tactical control, though.

Thomas Tuchel, Manager of

, looks on during training (Getty)

If it gets to that kind of contest,

will face the type of test they haven’t yet had: a knife fight.

Argentina are the team at this

best equipped for a battle. Even if they are being outmanoeuvred or outplayed - as has already happened a few times - everyone knows they can reduce the match to a fight; to a test of will.

And all of that is actually further spiked by a real resentment at how they are seen as benefiting from decisions and even perceived as "Fifa's team", especially given wider anti-authority sentiments.

And all of that is with the deeper incentive of the history as well as Messi’s very place in history. The

players are desperate to ensure that it’s not

this

match that ends his time in the Word Cup, as he faces

for the first time.

Just as well that

Bellingham is in such form, given his own will.

England also have their own emotions, even if they don’t have the political dimensions of Argentina’s. There is a real sense now that 60 years of hurt can end, and that as the ghosts of 40 and 30 years run through all of this.

If it’s Messi that tactically shapes the game, it’s Maradona and 1966 that frames it.

As with the last-16 match at the Azteca, the very description of this -

in a

semi-final - almost feels like a preview enough. It’s an epic that is a privilege to attend.

It still has to end with one team enjoying the honour of reaching the final.

The line from here to there won’t be straight. Except a siege and so much more.

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