Former Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi says he is backing Lionel Messi’s Argentina to defeat England in tonight’s FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final clash.
Mikel noted that England’s midfield has struggled to control spaces in the tournament and warned that Messi and Julián Álvarez will expose these gaps.
He made this prediction on The Rest Is Football podcast, where he pointed out key tactical and performance reasons why he favours Argentina.
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The former Chelsea star also stated that the Argentine squad and their talismanic playmaker will ultimately have too much quality for the English team.
“I’m a Messi fan, I want Argentina to win,” the AFCON 2013 winner said on the Rest is Football podcast alongside Joe Cole, Micah Richards, Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker.
“How do you stop Messi? We’ve all tried, and we’ve all failed. One thing I have to say is that he’s just a genius. I mean, he’s a fantastic player when we used to play against Barcelona.
“It’s just incredible. Obviously, a week before the game [Chelsea vs Barcelona], we used to talk about how we’d take him on, how we stop him. Mourinho always tried to come up with something.
England Will Struggle To Stop Messi
He also stated that it will difficult for the Three Lions to defend one-on-one against the Inter Miami star.
“You can’t defend one-on-one against Messi, it’s impossible.
“Man to man? You can, but you don’t want to just walk around a player like that. With the way they move the ball around to find one person, if it finds him, everything else changes.
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“The way he dribbles with the ball, it’s like there’s a magnet at his feet. And the vision, the things he sees, he’s one of the best passers in the world. We talk about his goals, but his passes are incredible.
“Argentina will win. England haven’t been great, they’ve had just one good half. Lionel Messi and Argentina will find space in that midfield between Declan Rice and Anderson.
“Also, you don’t want to have Declan Rice man-marking Messi, because you’ll take so much away from him. That’ll be the space Messi will love, and if he gets the ball there, you’re dead.
“For me, that’s where the game will be decided. The bodyguards Messi has know how to fight for him. They’ve been there, done that, so I think with that in mind, Argentina have the advantage,” the one-time UEFA Europa League winner concluded.
