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Thomas Tuchel believes the challenge of Argentina and Lionel Messi will bring out the best in his England team.
England are set for an epic clash with rivals Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday, with the winner facing Spain in Sunday’s final.
Tuchel criticized the football his side produced in their quarter-final extra-time win over Norway but expects a better performance from his players when they meet their rivals on the big stage.
“We had a lot of technical errors in the last match that prevented us from finding our rhythm,” explained Tuchel. “We were rushed in our decision-making, not patient enough or disciplined enough and it cost us our rhythm.
“We improved as a team in the tournament defending and defending. That’s what we need at the highest level (against Argentina).
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Argentina’s Alexis McAllister claims he is ‘not surprised’ England have reached the World Cup semi-finals.
“Acceleration combined with technical execution has to be at a high level. A set-up (from Argentina) will bring out the best in us and the best in our players.”
Regarding the size of the event and the chance to achieve a great victory, Tuchel added: “We know we are here, we have never been shy to expect and dream of it from us.
“We are in the semi-finals and we are very hungry. We want to get the next win.
“It’s a big football match but we’re very excited and ready to go.”
England must stop Lionel Messi to stop Argentina. The Argentina captain continues to dominate and top the World Cup scoring charts with eight strikes during his dominant campaign.
Tuchel admits he is weighing up a man-marking approach to stop Messi but says England will ultimately aim to impose their game on Argentina.
“I was thinking about, do we make an old-school man mark,” Tuchel laughed. “Not sure if we’ll pursue the idea but it has crossed my mind.
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Kaveh Solhekol delivers his expected England line-up to face Argentina as many players push to make Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI.
“Everyone knows the places where he wants to show. If you analyze the matches, he sees things quickly. The ball falls to him and he finds gaps.
“We found some patterns in their game but if you stop the pattern they will find a new one. Playing against the reigning champions and Lionel Messi is very unique. It is a big match in a big tournament.”
Summing up the challenge, Tuchel said: “There’s a lot to take care of. We’re here to play our way and impose our style.
We are here to play the semi-final.
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A reminder of where and when England’s semi-final against Argentina will be and, if they go that far, when to make a note in your diary for the final.
Tuchel: We can’t say it’s another match
Asked about the history of the England-Argentina match, Tuchel admitted the game held special meaning – even beyond the World Cup semi-finals. However, he insisted that past events would not be a distraction.
“I would say it’s irrelevant but I’m not sure,” he said. “The players are aware of what it means to them. If a match has an iconic moment, you can’t say it’s just another football match.
“My team and I don’t talk about historical events. The excitement is big enough.
“The bigger the stage and the bigger the excitement, we try to minimize the information. The magnitude of the game, it doesn’t help when we’re involved.”
