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I’d definitely rather play Argentina than the Swiss and I think Thomas Tuchel and the England players will be absolutely delighted – they’ll think they can go to Argentina.
In wide areas, Argentina looked vulnerable. Nahuel Molina, who started at right back, was given a tough time by Dan Ndoye, who eventually scored.
Molina eventually held on but, whether he or Gonzalo Montiel start against England, they will have their hands full with Anthony Gordon.
Likewise, whether it’s Noni Madueke or Bucayo Saka on the right, I think they’ll be better in one-on-one duels than Argentina left-back Nicolas Tagliafico.
And, at the heart of their defence, Lisandro Martinez has made mistake after mistake this tournament. There’s another Rick in him, I’m sure of that.
The way Argentina set up, they overload the middle of the pitch and play really narrow, then try to pass the ball to Messi and hope he can create something.
I know it’s easy to say ‘you stop Messi, you stop Argentina’, but watching them, it literally happened. Apart from Messi, they expect Julian Alvarez to curl one from 25 yards instead of playing in the team.
Alvarez usually stays in midfield but he played a little differently against Switzerland and tried to stretch their backline. If he didn’t do it, no one else would.
Messi certainly wasn’t going to make that run and he was really quiet for long periods against the Swiss, but once they went down to 10 men he looked more threatening.
His job will be to handle Declan Rice if he is fit. The Swiss understood that you can’t give Messi an inch and Granit Xhaka was great at it.
Messi will still be dangerous but he’s 39 now and, as long as Tuchel plans to stop him drifting into space, I think England will have enough quality everywhere else to win.
Look, it will be a brilliant tie because of all the history between the two countries in the World Cup, with Diego Maradona handball and David Beckham red card.
Previous meetings have been quite packed, and I expect more of the same here.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see some animosity from the Argentinian players because they love this side. They will be happy if this turns out to be a game where things get a bit wild and the England players lose their heads.
But, if they can keep their cool, I expect England to win comfortably – and my other prediction is that Argentina finish with nine men.
Messi has never played against England, and maybe he will make an impression, but England now have their own superstar in Jude Bellingham.
His first goal against Norway was sensational, with his energy, poise and finishing. He is absolutely flying at the moment and if it comes down to one player deciding this game, it will probably be him.
Sutton’s prediction: 3-1
Predictions of AI: 1-2
