World Cup Preview: England VS Argentina - prediction, team news, lineups

[(England) Strength]:
1. In the World Cup quarter-final, with the team trailing 1-0, Jude Bellingham stepped up, first equalizing in regular time and then scoring in extra time to make it 2-1. According to statistics, Jude Bellingham is the first player since Diego Maradona in 1986 (against England and Belgium) to score 2+ goals in consecutive World Cup knockout matches. After the match, the England team officially announced that midfielder Jude Bellingham was named the best player of the match in the 2-1 victory over Norway. So far in this World Cup, Jude Bellingham has played 6 matches for England, starting all of them, contributing 6 goals and 1 assist.
2. Statistics show that England attacker Noni Madueke has yet to register an assist in the World Cup but has created numerous opportunities. Among all attacking players who have not yet recorded an assist in this World Cup, Noni Madueke stands out. He has created 9 chances in total, ranking first among such players. He also leads in creating clear-cut chances with 3, demonstrating his threatening organizational ability in attack, although these passes have not yet been converted into goals by teammates.
3. In the last match, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford started and made his 18th appearance, becoming the player with the most World Cup appearances in England's history.
4. England successfully defeated Norway in the World Cup quarter-final and advanced to the semi-finals, marking the end of the long-standing shadow and curse associated with the date July 11 for English football. In the past, July 11 was a date of bitterness and regret for the Three Lions, including the painful loss to Italy on penalties in the 2021 UEFA EURO final at Wembley and the heartbreaking extra-time defeat to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final.
5. Under Thomas Tuchel's management, England won 16 of 20 matches, with a win rate of 80%, the highest among European national team coaches with more than 10 matches.
 

[(England) Neutral]:
1. Before the quarter-final, four England starters—Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Marc Guehi, and Nico O'Reilly—each had a yellow card, but England did not receive any yellow cards in the last match. Meanwhile, Reece James, who had been injured for three matches, also returned. In the semi-final, only Jarell Quansah (suspended) and Jordan Henderson (injured) will be unavailable.
2. Statistics show that in the last two World Cup matches where England conceded first, they ultimately won. Previously, when conceding first in the World Cup, they had won only 1 out of 23 matches. However, in knockout stages of major tournaments (World Cup + UEFA EURO), England has faced teams ranked in the top four of the FIFA rankings three times without a single victory.
3. England are the team with the longest travel distance among the remaining eight teams. Starting from Kansas City as their base, England traveled to Dallas, Boston, New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Mexico City, and finally to Miami to face Norway, covering a cumulative flight distance of approximately 10,900 miles. Compared to other competitors, England essentially experienced a tour of the North American continent.
4. This is the fourth time England reached the World Cup semi-finals. In the previous three occasions, they won the title in 1966, finished fourth in 1990 and 2018. Since the 2018 World Cup, England reached the semi-finals in 4 of 5 major tournaments, finishing as runners-up twice!
5. This match will be held at the Atlanta Stadium. According to media reports, local police are taking the security for this match very seriously. The Atlanta police in the United States are aware of the historical rivalry between England and Argentina and have deployed a large-scale security operation for the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
 

[(Argentina) Strength]:
1. A data agency compiled an interesting statistic: Lionel Messi has scored 13 goals against national teams starting with the letter E (e.g., England), only fewer than those against teams starting with B (17 goals) and C (16 goals).
2. Argentina still have two matches left in this World Cup. Lionel Messi has scored 8 goals in 6 matches this tournament and will aim to challenge Just Fontaine's (1958) record of 13 goals in a single edition! This record has stood for 68 years. Additionally, Lionel Messi has reached the semi-finals in 10 of 14 major tournaments with Argentina. Furthermore, Lionel Messi has never been eliminated in the group stage in his career. In 34 group stage participations at club and national team levels, he has always advanced to the knockout rounds.
3. Julian Alvarez played the full match in the last game, scoring a curling shot in the 112th minute to break his goal drought in this tournament. According to FIFA's official match report, Julian Alvarez covered a distance of 13,653.3 meters in this match, with a top speed of 35 km/h. After the match, Julian Alvarez was named Man of the Match.
4. In the last match, Lionel Messi provided an assist, becoming the all-time assist leader in World Cup history. He has now played 1,162 career matches, scoring 919 goals and providing 416 assists, with a total of 1,335 goal contributions. However, he failed to score in the last match, ending his consecutive World Cup goal-scoring streak at 9 games.
5. Defending champions Argentina primarily use Kansas City as their base. They have traveled to Dallas twice and visited Miami and Atlanta, but their overall route is more concentrated. Compared to England, Argentina significantly reduced long-distance travel, helping the team maintain competitiveness.
6. Lionel Scaloni has achieved 75 wins as Argentina's coach, the second most in the team's history, trailing only Guillermo Stabile's 82 wins. Lionel Scaloni remains unbeaten against European teams with 9 wins and 1 draw. At the World Cup level, Lionel Scaloni has won 10 matches as Argentina's coach, the most by any Argentina head coach in World Cup history.
7. In the World Cup quarter-final, Argentina defeated Switzerland 3-1. As defending champions, they have won all six matches in this tournament en route to the semi-finals. All six opponents were ranked outside the top 10 in the world, with the highest-ranked being Switzerland (ranked 14th before the match) in the quarter-final. England will be Argentina's first top-10 ranked opponents in this World Cup.
8. Argentina scored 9 goals in World Cup extra time, surpassing Italy's 8 to top the list, with 4 of those goals coming in this tournament. Argentina are also the first team since Brazil in 1970 to score at least 3 goals in each of the first three knockout matches of a single World Cup.
9. Argentina reached the semi-finals five times in the past, namely 1930, 1986, 1990, 2014, and 2022 (no semi-final in 1978), and won all five semi-final matches.
 

[(Argentina) Neutral]:
1. Argentina's team reporter confirmed that Argentina will wear their away blue jerseys against England. In the 1986 World Cup match between Argentina and England, Argentina also wore blue jerseys.
2. According to statistics from a Spanish data media outlet, this World Cup is the first time that the four teams reaching the semi-finals are exactly the top four teams in the FIFA World Rankings.
 

[(Argentina) Weakness]:
1. The last time the two teams met was in a friendly in 2005. They have faced each other 14 times historically, with England holding a slight advantage of 6 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses. At the World Cup level, they have met 5 times, with England winning 3 and Argentina winning 2. However, in knockout matches, they have met 3 times, with Argentina eliminating England twice.
 

[Tips]:
Although England broke the curse by eliminating Norway, they have traveled extensively across multiple cities in this tournament, resulting in huge physical exertion.

In knockout matches against top-four world teams, they have struggled to secure a victory.

Argentina advanced with six consecutive wins, with a more concentrated fixture and better physical reserves.

Lionel Scaloni remains unbeaten against European teams with 9 wins and 1 draw. Argentina has won all five World Cup semi-finals in their history, with stable attacking performances in knockout stages and the best extra-time scoring ability in the World Cup.

Historically, England hold a slight advantage in head-to-head records, but in three knockout encounters, Argentina eliminated England twice, giving them a psychological edge.

With the mature offensive and defensive system, combined with strong resilience under pressure, Argentina can contain England's attack and maintain an unbeaten record in regular time.
 

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