England have been warned that they face an “impossible” task in trying to nullify Lionel Messi ahead of their historic World Cup semi-final showdown with Argentina. The Inter Miami superstar is set to face the Three Lions for the first time in his illustrious career with a place in the showpiece final on the line.
Federico Fernandez, a former Argentina team-mate of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, has delivered a chilling verdict for Thomas Tuchel’s side. Despite the tactical preparations taking place in the England camp, Fernandez insists that 20 years of football history prove that individual plans to nullify the 39-year-old usually end in failure.
Speaking on the challenge of facing the tournament’s leading scorer, Fernandez told talkSPORT: “You can’t stop him. This question has been asked for the last 20 years. People will always find a way to get possession of the ball, whether that’s dropping deep, or moving more to the side. People just need a good pass and control to make the difference. Even if you put a player on him specifically. Everyone has tried everything against him over the years. I would always ask the coach to try and put us on the same teams so I didn’t have to mark him [in training].”
While the warning from the former Newcastle defender is stark, Tuchel remains confident that his tactical setup can provide the answer. The German coach is buoyed by England’s defensive performance in the previous round, where they successfully limited the impact of another global superstar.
“It’s incredible how he just pulls it off every single time – in so many different ways,” Tuchel admitted. “He finds spaces, he finds moments and the big thing is the whole team buys into that idea. We must be brave around him and just stop the support. He’s a different player from Erling Haaland but we did well against Erling, so we’ll find a way now.”
While Messi has scored eight goals in the tournament so far, England captain Harry Kane is adamant that focusing solely on the former Barcelona and PSG superstar would be a mistake for the Three Lions.
Kane stated: “He’s been one of, if not the best, player in the world for almost 20 years. Everyone knows how dangerous it can be. But we play Argentina – not against Messi. We come up against a great unit, a great team with fantastic players. As much as it will be built up around Messi and the big players, we know it’s more than that.”
Follow the OSUNDOTLIFE channel on WhatsAppKindly share this story | All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from OSUNDOTLIFE.
Contact: editor@osun.life
WhatsApp: 📲 +2348092333666