Thomas Tuchel expects England to encounter an Argentina side “driven by their past” in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final in Atlanta. This marks the sixth World Cup meeting between the two countries, with the last three encounters taking place after the 1982 Falklands conflict.
The most contentious clash occurred in the 1986 quarter-finals when Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal helped Argentina to a 2-1 victory on their way to lifting the trophy. Argentina also prevailed on penalties in the last 16 in 1998 after David Beckham was dismissed. Beckham found a degree of redemption four years later, converting a penalty in a 1-0 group-stage success. England secured a 3-1 win in the 1962 group phase and a 1-0 quarter-final victory in 1966, the year they ultimately became champions.
Tuchel acknowledges the intense combative spirit within the Argentina squad and their determination to defend the title they claimed in 2022. They aim to offer Lionel Messi a glorious farewell in what is anticipated to be his final World Cup appearance.
Following their 3-1 quarter-final triumph over Switzerland, several Argentina players chanted a song in the dressing room that referenced the Falklands war and vowed to claim the World Cup for “Las Malvinas, por Diego and por la ultima de Leo” – “for the Falklands, for Diego and for Leo’s last”.
When asked if he perceived the competitive tension surrounding this fixture, Tuchel said: “I know some of the players, I coached some of the players. I can sense it. You can see it. They have this kind of edge. You can sense it when they’re going a goal down, when matches are tight.”
“We have the grit, we have the mentality that it takes to go up against it. And we are ready for it”
“They’re almost the same group as four years ago. You can see the cohesion, you can see the sacrifice that they put into it. They believe in their style. And their style is a very emotional style. It was in Qatar and it is now.
“And, of course, history … they are also fuelled by that. They are fuelled by history, it means a lot to them. So this is what we basically expect, and what we are up against. But we are also emotional, we have the grit, we have the mentality that it takes to go up against it. And we are ready for it.”
Tuchel also clarified that there is no lingering friction between him and Jude Bellingham. The manager had critiqued the technical performance in the 2-1 extra-time quarter-final win over Norway. Bellingham, who scored both goals, appeared displeased when that part of the analysis was put to him, suggesting the manager might not understand what it takes to perform in such a match.
Thomas Tuchel asserts there is no problem between him and Jude Bellingham. Photograph: Marco Bello/Reuters
“Our comments come from the same place – from being competitive and having the edge when competition is on,” Tuchel stated. “He [Bellingham] was just confronted with a critique of my side. I [also] called him a world-class player. I said he had world-class actions again to decide the match. I said the mentality is outstanding of this team. All of that was not part of the question.
“I would maybe also bite back when I come from 120 minutes, score two goals and give literally everything that is in my body. It’s just a very normal reaction for a player of his mindset. So no problem.
“I spoke to the whole team. We debriefed [the game]. I spoke to the whole team after in the dressing room, which was basically the same message. And I explained it again on Sunday evening to just move on forward. Then, in the [same] talk, we put on a new direction, a new head, which is semi-final and Argentina.”
Marc Guéhi intensified the psychological battle by insisting the burden lies with Argentina to defend their status as world champions. “There isn’t pressure on us,” the defender said. “What’s the pressure? The onus is on them. They’re the world champions. They need to come out, they need to defend their title. There’s no pressure on us at all.”
Guéhi has overcome a hamstring problem and is expected to maintain his central defensive partnership with John Stones, while Ezri Konsa competes with Reece James for the right-back position. Konsa, who started at full-back against Norway, offered limited insight into Argentina’s approach.
“We haven’t managed to watch any of their games,” he said. “I’m sure when we have the meeting tonight or tomorrow we’ll see some clips of them and see what we can do to overcome them.”
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