Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
What did the legend of England say before the semi-final match?
Coming into his first World Cup semi-final against England, Wayne Rooney believes Lionel Messi has a superior attacking weapon but is not up to the task in defense, something the Three Lions could use.
The challenge facing England in Atlanta goes beyond meeting Argentina in a World Cup semi-final for the first time in 24 years. The real challenger is called: Lionel Messi.
Despite scoring 125 goals in 205 internationals, the 39-year-old Messi has never before faced England at national team level.
He enters the semi-finals as the tournament’s top scorer with 8 goals, before his 9-match scoring streak is snapped by Switzerland in the quarter-finals. Despite not scoring, Messi scored two crucial goals to give Argentina victory.
England legend Wayne Rooney believes the key to stopping Messi is to cut down on the moments he makes a difference.
Ronnie said:BBC Sport“Messi can be a defensive weakness for Argentina because he doesn’t get back in support, but he decides matches in an instant. He is distinguished by making the right decision at the decisive moment. Following through on it requires constant focus and communication.”
England, on the other hand, are in high spirits after two goals from Jude Bellingham beat Norway to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2018. As for Argentina, they qualified with difficulty after a 3-1 win over Switzerland thanks to a 112th-minute goal from Julián Alvarez before Martinoa decided the outcome.
But former England defender Micah Richards believes Messi’s presence overturns any calculations, as he told the BBC: “England is faster, but Argentina has a genius Messi. Everyone is playing for him. It’s impossible to control him because he doesn’t come back, but sneaks into areas where you don’t expect him, he’s always awesome. appears at the right time.”
