Messi says Argentina-England semi-final will be “special” after extra-time win over Switzerland

Joe Cole makes shock Lionel Messi World Cup claim ahead of England vs Argentina

Former England star Joe Cole (Picture: YouTube) Joe Cole has backed England to ‘put Lionel Messi to bed’ when they face Argentina for a place in the World Cup final. Argentina stand in England’s way of a first World Cup final since 1966 after Thomas Tuchel’s side beat Norway in a cagey quarter-final. The Three Lions were far from at their best against a spirited Norway side but Jude Bellingham’s brace sent them into their fourth World Cup semi-final. England will face Argentina in Wednesday’s second semi-final after the World Cup holders came through another tricky tie against Switzerland. Exclusive analysis of England v Norway Make sense of the drama with Metro's free daily newsletter. Sign up now. Momentum appeared to be with the Swiss after Dan Ndoye cancelled out Alexis Mac Allister’s early opener but Argentina then received a huge boost as Breel Embolo was sent off. Ten-man Switzerland took Argentina to extra-time and were on course for penalties before goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez sent the defending champions through. Messi failed to score for the first time in this World Cup but remains the joint top goalscorer in the tournament alongside France’s Kylian Mbappe. Argentina superstar Lionel Messi (Picture: Getty) England will be acutely aware of the threat of arguably the greatest player in history but Cole believes the Three Lions can ‘put Messi to bed’ in the World Cup semi-final at the Atlanta Stadium. ‘We will have to put Lionel Messi to bed,’ Cole said on The Rest is Football. ‘We’re going to put him to bed.’ Micah Richards then told his fellow ex-England star that ‘you can’t say that’ but Cole doubled down, adding: ‘We are, 100 per cent. England World Cup boss Thomas Tuchel (Picture: Getty) ‘I’m saying it now, England are going to the World Cup final, we’ve got too much pace for Argentina and we’re going to beat them, I feel it in my bones.’ While Cole expects England to reach the World Cup final, Ally McCoist views the Three Lions as only the ‘third-best team left in the tournament’. ‘At this moment in time, England are the third-best team left in the tournament,’ the ex-Scotland striker said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page ‘But the good news is you’re playing a team that I think you’re better than. I think England are better than Argentina. ‘France look like the best team in the tournament but concentrate on the semi-final. ‘Defensively, Argentina aren’t great but going forward, we know Messi is capable of doing something out of nowhere and that’s the thing you have to guard against. ‘But what a game we’ve got to look forward to there.’ European champions Spain face 2022 World Cup finalists France in the other semi-final tie. France, the standout team of the tournament, beat African champions Spain in the quarters, while Spain edged out Belgium. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

2 hours ago

Lionel Messi makes ‘special’ England claim ahead of World Cup semi-final

Lionel Messi is looking forward to Argentina’s ‘special’ World Cup clash with England (Picture: Getty) Argentina superstar Lionel Messi says he is relishing the opportunity to face ‘big team’ England for the first time in his career ahead of the sides’ ‘special’ World Cup semi-final. The holders had looked to be cruising towards a comfortable victory over Switzerland after Alexis Mac Allister headed home Messi’s tenth-minute corner to open the scoring in Kansas. Switzerland dug deep and found an equaliser midway through the second half as Dan Ndoye beat Emiliano Martinez from a tight angle, only for Breel Embolo to get sent off for a second bookable offence just five minutes later. Granit Xhaka and Co clung on to take the absorbing quarter-final contest to extra-time, but it was Argentina who prevailed after the added 30 minutes, with Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez both netting in a dramatic finish. Exclusive analysis of England v Norway Make sense of the drama with Metro's free daily newsletter. Sign up now. The 2022 champions will do battle with England in an intriguing semi-final clash steeped in history, with a Jude Bellingham-inspired Three Lions coming from behind to defeat Norway earlier in the day. A place in this year’s final against one of Spain or France awaits the victor. ‘The truth is, yes, it is always special to play against the big teams,’ Messi said in his post-match interview with ESPN. Alvarez scored a stunning goal to help send Argentina on their way (Picture: Getty) ‘It never happened to me against England, it’s the first time, so it’s going to be a special match, a World Cup semi-final. ‘Now we’ll rest and prepare for that. We’ve come from a lot of effort, playing a long game and, well, sometimes is shows.’ Facing the media shortly after Argentina’s win, Lionel Scaloni said his side would be giving ‘every last drop of sweat’ to get a past a ‘very tough’ and reach the final. ‘What this team has achieved is historic, even though we could have played better,’ the Argentina head coach told reporters. Messi and Co will lock horns with England in the final four (Picture: Getty) ‘It’s historic to be in a semi-final again. ‘It’s a privileged space in football, not an easy feat. We’re happy and excited now. ‘We will try to make it to the end with every last drop of sweat.’ To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Argentina’s jubilant squad were pictured celebrating with their adoring supporters in the immediate aftermath of their win, with chants of, ‘Anyone who doesn’t jump is an Englishman,’ heard both on the pitch and in the stands. But despite the age-old rivalry between the two nations, dating back to the Falklands War in 1982, Scaloni insisted Wednesday’s semi-final is simply ‘a football game’ versus a ‘very tough opponent’. ‘The message is this is a football game. That is what I can say,’ he added. ‘We will be playing against a very tough opponent, they have an excellent coach, it is a football game and that is all.’ Argentina’s upcoming clash with England is just a ‘football game’, says Scaloni (Picture: Getty) Scaloni – who steered Argentina to glory in Qatar four years ago – hopes his squad will have learned a ‘big lesson’ from their edgy and ‘very difficult’ quarter-final with Switzerland. ‘It was very difficult for us to win the duels but ultimately we always find the solutions,’ he went on. ‘In the end we made it possible but it was a big lesson for us as we know what we will be facing.’ It was heartbreak for the Swiss in Kansas (Picture: Getty) Jose Lopez provided the assist for Alvarez’s stunning 112th-minute effort after coming on in place of Leandro Paredes just moments earlier. Facing the media shortly after the final whistle, the Palmeiras forward vowed to ‘leave our lives on the field’ against England and fight ‘until the last second’. ‘Obviously inside and outside the four lines of the pitch it’s a matchup that has a lot of history there, a lot of pain and a lot of things behind it,’ he said. ‘I think we are professionals and we’re going to play it like we play every game: until the last second, leaving our lives on the field.’ England’s eagerly anticipated semi-final clash against Argentina takes place at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday, 15 July at 20:00 BST. Remarkably, it will represent the first time that the great Messi will line up in an international fixture against the Three Lions in what will be the forward’s 206th appearance for his country. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

15 hours ago