As the football world braces for the high-octane World Cup semifinal clash between bitter rivals England and Argentina, a former international player has claimed that Harry Kane’s team is capable of ending Lionel Messi’s international career on Wednesday.
Messi, 39, is likely to announce his international retirement after the 2026 World Cup.
With Argentina barely managing to overcome Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland in their previous knockout games, Messi’s team will face their first big test against England, one of the favourites for the title.
And former England midfielder Joe Cole is confident that the Three Lions can knock out the defending champions to book their place in the final.
Cole, 44, also predicted that Messi will struggle against the pace of England’s midfield.
Messi has scored eight goals in the tournament, relying on his finishing skills and clever movement in the final third.
But having lost the pace and dribbling ability in tight spaces, Messi could be in for his first big test against England’s world-class system.
“We’ve got to put Messi to sleep. We’re going to put him to bed,” Cole said on The Rest Is Football when asked about Messi’s threat.
Former England stars Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards were the other guests on the popular show.
Richards was taken aback by Cole’s bold prediction.
“You can’t say that. You can say it when there are two minutes left,” Richards responded.
But Cole, a former Chelsea midfielder, continued to sound extremely confident of England’s chances against Messi’s Argentina.
“No, I’m saying it now. We’ve got the pace to deal with Argentina’s strengths. We’re going to reach the World Cup final. I can feel it in my bones,” he said.
The lack of pace in Argentina’s midfield has been a major concern — a big reason for their struggle to break down teams like Cape Verde, Egypt and the defensively well-organised Switzerland.
According to Argentinian media, head coach Lionel Scaloni might make one change in their midfield, bringing on one of the younger players from the bench to add more energy and pace.
But writing off Messi, who failed to score against Switzerland but provided the assist for the team’s first goal, could be dangerous for England.
The former Barcelona star could go quiet for long periods of the game, but he can suddenly explode with a moment of genius.
That ability to produce something out of nothing could be a deciding factor if the game is delicately poised until the deep end of the second half.
The margin of error could be very small in a game between two fierce rivals who haven’t played in a World Cup game since 2002, when a David Beckham penalty handed Argentina a painful 1-0 defeat.
With one penalty kick, Beckham turned from villain to hero four years after the former Man United star was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone in England’s round-of-16 defeat to the South Americans.
The 1998 game was the first time the two countries clashed in a World Cup after Diego Maradona’s iconic 1986 ‘Hand of God’ match at Azteca in Mexico City, when the Argentine magician punched the ball into the net for the first goal.
The referee didn’t notice Maradona’s hand and controversially awarded the goal.
Five minutes later, Maradona went on a mazy run from his own half, dribbling past four England outfield players before beating the goalkeeper to score a sublime individual goal.
Inspired by Maradona’s magic, Argentina won the quarterfinal battle 2-1 before going on to win the tournament.
Now the two countries will be battling for glory again in a World Cup, with an ageing icon, Messi, expected to carry an underperforming Argentina on his shoulders.
As Cole stated, this is a burden that could be too heavy to carry even for a giant like Messi.
Source: Khaleej Times