England are aiming to knock the greatest player of modern times out of the World Cup 2026 when the Three Lions meet Lionel Messi for the first time ever in the semi-finals in Atlanta on Wednesday. In their first fixture against England since 2005, the holders will resume their mission to retain the trophy for their inspirational captain in his last trip to the finals at the age of 39.Messi has scored in every Argentina match at the finals apart from their quarter-final against Switzerland, when he took 10 minutes to set up the opening goal.From Three Lions captain Harry Kane to former England managers and World Cup legends, heres what experts have said about keeping Messi quiet.Table of ContentsEngland could frustrate Messi AllardyceHarry Kane: Everyone knows Messi dangerLionel Messi and Argentina can beat anyone VieriLionel Messi: England will have a plan CarragherEngland vs Argentina: Pardew on keeping Messi outEngland communication so important SilvestreEngland have quality to beat Argentina SuttonWorld Cup 2026: When is England vs Argentina?Where to watch England vs Argentina: TV channel, live online streamEngland could frustrate Messi AllardyceSam Allardyce briefly managed his country in 2016 and believes a midfielder who has already impressed at the finals could be crucial.Theres one man whod keep Messi quiet, Allardyce told No Tippy Tappy Football.Because he doesnt challenge you physically too much, [head coach Thomas Tuchel] can sacrifice one person.Its one person whos had an outstanding World Cup and could be disciplined enough to do the man-for-man marking, which is, for me, just whats needed.Hes Elliot Anderson. Just give him the job and say look, this is your job today. The rest of the [Argentina] team are excellent and there are other areas weve got to be careful about, but youre stopping the main threat.If youre concentrating enough, it wont matter where hes taking you. Just go with him and the rest of the team will cope with the rest of what Argentina have to offer.So you stop him the main threat and the rest of the team do the job. That could frustrate Messi hugely and not let him in the game.Sometimes its like with [Erling] Haaland: [strikers] arent bothered too much about it. They just wait. Theyll like to sit there and wait to pounce.Thats why you need the concentration, because sometimes, if you are walking around like Messi does, particularly, he just waits and then hes off if you lose concentration.Stop Messi as well as stopping the service, and youve got an opportunity to as proven by other teams.Harry Kane: Everyone knows Messi dangerKane says the fact that Messi is encountering England for the first time in his storied career makes the match a unique occasion.Its crazy really, when you think about it, how long hes been at the top of his game and never played England, Kane told ITV, also analysing figures showing the unusual amount of time Messi spends walking during games.We know how good a player he is and what hes done in the game, how consistent hes been for so long.Hes been doing it for how long has it been, 20 years? Hes been one of if not the best player in the world for almost 20 years straight, so everyone knows how dangerous he can be.People play football in so many different ways and people like to put a blanket on everyone [where] it has to be this way or that way: you have to run this much.People find a way of doing it in their own special circumstances. Are there many people who can do it like him? Absolutely not, because you cant get away with it.But hes so effective when he has the ball. Especially in this team, when the team believe in him and everything is built around him.They have that belief among each other. So thats another test were going to have to come through and deal with.We have a lot of preparation to do. Were coming 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 its a lot more than that.Lionel Messi and Argentina can beat anyone VieriItalys all-time top scorer at the World Cup, Christian Vieri, feels Messi was unfortunate not to score against Switzerland but amply demonstrated his unpredictability during the extra-time win.Theres never a good time to face Lionel, Vieri told FIFA. Even if hes 39, you can see what he does game after game.Hes been doing this for like 25 years, so physically hes fit. When youre fit and you have that much talent, you can beat anyone in any game.Hes so good. You always want to play against the best, because you want to beat the best. If Im an English player, I want to play against Messi; I want to play against all the biggest players and see what happens.Of the four teams in the semi-finals, England have shown something more than the other teams.Lionel Messi: England will have a plan CarragherJamie Carragher played for England at the World Cup in 2006 and 2010, although the defender missed their 3-2 win over Argentina in a friendly 21 years ago in Geneva.[The problem is] not new with Messi, said Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports. Hes been around for 20 years and no-ones found the answer, really, to stop him.Youre up against genius. I dont think itd be a man-marking job from the England squad but they will have to have a plan. The players will be expecting that.Its not admitting defeat in any way if you have to change something slightly. Even the England players will be expecting something from [assistant] Anthony Barry and Thomas Tuchel because youre coming up against arguably the greatest player of all time.Hes shown that in this tournament as well, so England have to think about how theyre going to deal with him.But they should be thinking about how they can exploit Lionel Messi as well. He walks about when the opposition have the ball.That doesnt mean Englands left-backs should just stand next to him for the whole game. You can exploit that.Argentina only defend with nine outfield players, whereas most teams the majority in world football now defend with 10 outfield players. So thats something England have to look to exploit.England vs Argentina: Pardew on keeping Messi outFormer Premier League manager of the season Alan Pardew says Argentina made a tactical tweak when Messi was quite quiet against Switzerland.They pushed him out on that right flank, where hes probably played most of his football, Pardew told TalkSport.He was terrific for a little spell. Hes just one of those players who youve got to get bodies around.He can skip past two or three of you but you need those bodies there just in case you can stop him.Stopping him at source is the key. Us keeping possession which weve not done really well, if Im honest is going to be very, very important.We cant keep turning the ball over, so [it requires] keeping possession, keeping locked in. When I say locked in, I mean when we have an attack when it comes out we win that second ball, or we pick up the pieces, we read the situation.We havent done that well, so were having our attacks and then the opposition obtain possession and clear it or play their way out, and Argentina are good at that.Those are the two areas that will be really important. One, keep Messi off the game by keeping the ball. Secondly, have bodies in and around him.England communication so important SilvestreIn 2010, Messi scored all of Barcelonas goals in a 4-1 home win over an Arsenal side featuring France defender Mikael Silvestre.He just disappeared at some points, recalled Silvestre, a World Cup 2006 finalist, speaking to The Good, The Bad & The Football.Not because hes walking, but because hes going into an area where you forget about him. You need to speak to one another more than usual because hes going to be in between the lines.Most of the time, hes going to be positioned right between the defenders and the midfield. So you need to be constantly aware and communicate: hey, hes behind you or hes on your right shoulder, left shoulder.This is so important for the back four, specifically, to communicate with the midfield whether thats with [Jordan] Henderson, [Declan] Rice or whoever is playing there.Maybe Reece James will play there next time. It is just so vital to have that relationship and communication to know where he is at all times.Especially when hes walking, because you know his next move will be decisive. Hes fresh. That burst of speed over the first five or six yards hes still got it.England have quality to beat Argentina SuttonPremier League winner Chris Sutton almost crossed paths with Messi on the pitch, starting for Celtic in a 1-1 draw at Barcelona in the Champions League in 2004, with Messi an unused substitute.Messi will still be dangerous but he is 39 now and, as long as Tuchel has a plan to stop him drifting into space, England will have enough quality everywhere else to win, Sutton predicted in his BBC Sport column.The way Argentina set up, they overload the middle of the pitch and play really narrow, then try to get Messi on the ball and hope he can produce something,I know it is easy to say you stop Messi, you stop Argentina. But watching them, that was literally the case.Apart from Messi, they are hoping Julian Alvarez bends one in from 25 yards, rather than playing through teams.Alvarez is usually in midfield but he played slightly differently against Switzerland and was the one trying to stretch their backline. If he wasnt doing it, no-one else was.Messi certainly isnt going to be making those runs and he was really quiet for long periods against the Swiss. Once [Switzerland] were down to 10 men, he was probing and looking more of a threat.If Declan Rice is fit, it will be his job to deal with him. The Swiss realised you could not give Messi an inch and Granit Xhaka was brilliant at that.World Cup 2026: When is England vs Argentina?The first competitive meeting between the two countries since the 2002 finals starts at 20:00 BST on Wednesday. Heres how that looks in different territories.DateBST start timeETPTWeds, July 1520:0015:0012:00Where to watch England vs Argentina: TV channel, live online streamIn the UK, live TV coverage is on BBC One.Streaming on a vast range of devices is available through the BBC iPlayer app and BBC Sport website. Topics 2026 FIFA World Cup Anthony Gordon Argentina National Football Team Bukayo Saka Dan Burn Declan Rice Djed Spence Eberechi Eze Elliot Anderson England National Football Team FIFA World Cup Harry Kane Ivan Toney James Trafford Jarell Quansah John Stones Jordan Henderson Jordan Pickford Jude Bellingham Kobbie Mainoo Lionel Messi Marc Guehi Marcus Rashford Morgan Rogers Nico O'Reilly Noni Madueke Ollie Watkins Reece James Thomas Tuchel World Cup World Cup 2026 Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Lionel Messi: Every England players record vs Argentina and World Cup icon including three wins out of five for defenders Ben Miller 14th July, 2026 Kane claims Englands World Cup semi-final as big as it gets ahead of Argentina showdown Mitch Fretton 14th July, 2026 World Cup 2026 live: France vs Spain confirmed teams and full line ups as Barcola, Tchouameni start with England or Argentina awaiting winners, TV channel, online stream and stats Ben Miller 14th July, 2026 Diego Maradonas son says England clash is not a normal game and urges Argentina fans to remember those killed in the Falklands Jon Fisher 14th July, 2026 England v Argentina: Expected line-ups, stats and where to watch World Cup semi-final between arch-rivals Jon Fisher 14th July, 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026: Full France fixtures, results, schedule, confirmed squad, next match, kick off times Ben Miller 14th July, 2026
