ENGLAND coach Thomas Tuchel has admitted that he has considered man-marking Lionel Messi in tonight’s 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final against Argentina.
Messi, 39, is the tournament’s joint-top scorer with eight goals along with Kylian Mbappe and will face England for the first time in his illustrious career at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The winners will face Spain in Sunday’s final in New Jersey.
“I was thinking about this, if we do a proper old school man-mark [on Messi],” Tuchel said in his pre-match news conference last night.
“I’m not sure if we follow through with this idea but it crossed my mind. I think everyone knows the spaces where he wants to show up. It’s just like, you analyse the matches, you feel he just sees stuff earlier than anyone else on the field.”
Messi’s eight goals, which have been accompanied by two assists, means he is now the all-time scoring leader in World Cup history with 21 goals.
“It’s just like the ball drops to him, he finds the gap, he makes himself the space for his left foot and then executes the solution on the very highest level,” Tuchel added.
“I think we found some patterns in their game of course but if we close the patterns he will find a new one or create a new one.
“It is his super strength, it is just what it is. It is an exciting set-up, it is very unique to play against the reigning champions, it is very unique to play against Leo Messi and his team. It is unique to play with England against Argentina. It is just a big match in every department.”
