Paul Scholes has predicted a chaotic 4-3 victory for England over Argentina in the World Cup semi-final, warning of red cards and mayhem in a seven-goal thriller. The former Manchester United midfielder expects pure 'chaos' when the two sides meet on Wednesday night at the second semi-final of the tournament.
England's Curious Campaign
England face reigning champions Argentina after a mixed World Cup campaign. Thomas Tuchel's side impressed in their opening win over Croatia but delivered underwhelming performances against Ghana and Panama. They came from behind to beat DR Congo in the first knockout round before producing a heroic display to defeat co-hosts Mexico at the iconic Azteca stadium.
In the quarter-final, Jude Bellingham emerged as the hero with a brace to send the 1966 winners past Norway in a cagey encounter. Little separated the two teams, but Bellingham's brilliance proved decisive.
Argentina's Rocky Road
Argentina topped Group J with a perfect record, looking one of the standout teams in the group stage. However, the holders have survived several scares in the knockout rounds. They were taken to extra-time by minnows Cape Verde before coming back from 2-0 down to beat Egypt. In the quarter-final, they beat Switzerland 3-1, but that scoreline flattered them; the Swiss were on top until going down to ten men in the second half.
Scholes' Assessment
Scholes has not been overly impressed with either England or Argentina but prefers the squad at Tuchel's disposal to Lionel Scaloni's. The Manchester United legend believes the semi-final is effectively a '50-50' game but has backed England to edge Argentina in a seven-goal thriller.
'I think the path for England and Argentina have been very similar,' Scholes said on The Good, The Bat & The Football podcast. 'I don't think either team has played that well but they've got through games. I think the biggest thing, the biggest advantage for Argentina, is they've done it before and they know how to win these big games in tournaments. We're yet to prove that.'
Chaos Predicted
Scholes warned of a fiery encounter, predicting yellow and red cards. 'This will be lively, this will be chaos. This could be 4-3 either way, there will be yellow and red cards. If Argentina lose they'll all kick off, that's absolutely guaranteed. And if you lose to them it's horrible.'
Despite his confidence in England beating Argentina, Scholes doubts they can overcome tournament favourites France in the final. 'I think we can beat Argentina and Spain but I'm not sure we can beat France. I think we need Spain to beat France. I think our semi-final is 50-50, a flip of a coin. Maybe Argentina are just favourites because of the experience but I prefer our squad of players, that's even taking into account Lionel Messi. I'm going 4-3 to England. It will be chaos – there will be red cards and everything, it will all be going off.'
