On one side of the draw, France and Spain, the stylists and the matadors, most people’s pick for the best two teams of the tournament so far. In the other semi-final, two more sides who many see as mirrors of each other, two sides whose progress to the last four has been more about struggle than style.
Thomas Tuchel talked candidly about England’s search for their best form after the gritty victory over Norway in Miami on Saturday and, beyond all the freighted emotional and political baggage that will come with their clash in Atlanta on Wednesday, Argentina are enduring similar labours.
They are led by the ageless wonder that is Lionel Messi, the joint top scorer in the tournament and the leading scorer in World Cup history, and that always has to be the starting point of any analysis of England’s opponents. Messi is 39 but he is still a genius and he still has the ability to take the game away from England at any time.
His supporting cast is more than just a rump of faceless grunts put there to be his platform. Julian Alvarez proved that on Saturday evening with the stunning extra-time strike against Switzerland in Kansas City that finally broke Argentina’s opponents, who had already been reduced to 10 men.
Alexis Mac Allister, who scored the first goal against the Swiss, is showing some of the form that persuaded Liverpool to buy him from Brighton & Hove Albion and, at the back Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez remain the robust, combative, uncompromising characters that turn out for Spurs and Manchester United.
But the Swiss showed that beyond all the thunder, Argentina are also distinctly vulnerable. Egypt showed that, too, in the Round of 16 when Argentina scrabbled to a fortunate win that was accompanied by accusations of refereeing decisions that favoured the holders and insinuations that FIFA are trying to engineer ways for Argentina to survive.
Messi is 39 but he is still a genius and he still has the ability to take the game away from England at any time
Julian Alvarez proved his worth on Saturday with the stunning extra-time strike against Switzerland in Kansas City that finally broke Argentina’s opponents
I was at the Round of 32 game in Miami when Argentina played Cape Verde and, again, were lucky to progress. It was close to being one of the great giant-killing stories of all-time but a beautiful goal from Messi and an extra-time Cape Verde own goal helped Argentina squeak through.
‘This is part of our blood,’ Argentina’s manager, Lionel Scaloni, said after the victory over the Swiss. ‘It is part of our DNA. These struggles bring peace of mind. We are more experienced and we know what it feels like to be dominated by the opponent, to have an equalizer. Today we kept our composure, the team knew how to remain calm, and we will never give up.’
The refusal to give up will sound familiar to England fans, who have watched their own team face down adversity time after time in this World Cup and draw on the mental strength that Jude Bellingham has identified as critical to the progress of Tuchel’s team in this tournament. Argentina have it, too. Many of their players won the World Cup in Qatar four years ago. They know they can get the job done.
For the first time, England’s fans may be outnumbered at a match, too. Argentina’s fans travel in huge numbers to the World Cup. It was like that in Qatar and it has been like that here in the USA. They dominate the stadiums and the cities that they visit and that is unlikely to change at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Wednesday’s semi-final will be a titanic clash of flawed sides with indomitable wills and players who can shape a match’s destiny. England has Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane. Argentina has Messi. Both teams have become adept at finding a way to rise above ordinariness when it matters.
‘I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again,’ Messi said after the victory over Egypt, ‘this is a group that competes, always giving their best, a group that never gives up. They never let their arms down. That’s why we achieved all that we achieved. Today, it was a demonstration of pride, of character, of love, of trying. It shows that every day, they never stop trying.’
That is what England have to try to break in Atlanta on Wednesday.
