England coach Thomas Tuchel stated his belief that the England team will find a method to counteract Argentina's star player Lionel Messi in their upcoming World Cup semi-final match. The match is scheduled for Wednesday at Atlanta Stadium, with the winner advancing to face Spain in the final.
Messi is currently tied for the Golden Boot with eight goals, a tally he shares with Kylian Mbappe. Tuchel acknowledged Messi's consistent impact, noting his ability to create opportunities in various ways. "He finds spaces, he finds moments, and the big thing is that the whole team buys into that idea to support him," Tuchel said. "We need to be brave around him, we need to stop the support, and we need to take care of all the movements that happen when he's on the ball."
Tuchel drew a comparison to England's strategy against Erling Haaland in their quarter-final victory, suggesting a similar approach could be effective. "He's a very different player from Erling Haaland, but we did very well in the way you maybe should play against Erling, so we will find a way now," he added.
Meanwhile, former England captain Alan Shearer voiced concerns regarding the officiating, particularly citing instances where he believes Argentina has benefited from favorable decisions. "I'm slightly concerned that a refereeing decision or VAR could cost us against Argentina because I think the narrative from the referees and the VAR from the start of the tournament to now has changed massively," Shearer commented.
Shearer pointed to specific matches, including Egypt's disallowed goal in their round of 16 match against Argentina and controversy surrounding a penalty decision in the quarter-final against Switzerland. He also mentioned an incident where Messi was not carded for stepping on an opponent's calf during the group stage. "I have been amazed at some of the decisions that Argentina have had, particularly the one against Egypt where their Egyptian goal was pulled back and cancelled out. I thought that was nonsense. It is a bit of a concern when playing them," Shearer stated.
The referee for the England-Argentina semi-final will be Ismail Elfath, an American official who has refereed three matches in the current tournament. Elfath has officiated Messi in four matches since the forward joined Inter Miami in July 2023, with Messi winning all those encounters. Elfath's MLS record includes issuing 41 yellow cards, three red cards, and awarding three penalties in ten matches this season. In this World Cup, he has shown eight yellow cards and one red card across three games.
FIFA's chief of refereeing, Pierluigi Collina, has previously dismissed claims of bias among World Cup officials, following similar complaints from Egypt after their defeat to Argentina.