England must have a 'plan' to stop Lionel Messi but can also 'exploit' the Argentina star's defensive weaknesses in the World Cup semi-final, according to former England international Jamie Carragher. The 39-year-old Messi has been instrumental for Argentina, scoring eight goals and providing two assists in the tournament, but Carragher believes his tendency to 'walk about' when out of possession leaves his side vulnerable.
Carragher's analysis of Argentina's strengths
Previewing the match on Sky Sports, Carragher said Argentina have a 'slight advantage' over England in goal and at centre-back. 'I'd say Argentina just but there's very, very, very little in it,' he explained. 'I think Argentina probably have the slight advantage in probably goalkeeper and centre-backs and the rest is much of a muchness really. Argentina have obviously got world-class players in the attack and so have we, we have great midfield players and so have they. It's almost like a Premier League battle in midfield. So probably Argentina just I would say.'
How to stop Messi and exploit his weakness
Carragher hopes England manager Thomas Tuchel has a clear strategy to minimise Messi's impact. 'Listen, it's nothing new with Messi. He's been around for 20 years and no one has found the answer to stop him,' Carragher said. 'You're up against genius but there has to be a plan. I don't think it'll be a man-marking job from the England squad but they will have to have a plan. I think the players will be expecting that. It's not admitting defeat in any way and the England players will be expecting something from Anthony Barry and Thomas Tuchel because you're coming up against arguably the greatest player of all time. He's shown that in this tournament as well.'
Carragher also emphasised that England should look to exploit Messi's defensive work rate. 'He walks about when the opposition have got the ball so that doesn't mean England's left-back should just stand next to him for the whole game. You can exploit that. Argentina only defend with nine outfield players whereas the majority of teams in world football now defend with ten outfield players, so that's something England have got to look to exploit.'
Bellingham's threat and Tuchel's management
Carragher highlighted Jude Bellingham as a key attacking threat for England, noting the Real Madrid star has scored six goals in the tournament. 'It's difficult to stop Jude Bellingham. He hasn't been at the top of the game as long as Messi but he's certainly been around a long time now and it is very difficult,' Carragher said. 'I think he's a completely different to Messi, who wants the ball to his feet, dribbling between the lines, whereas Bellingham is more powerful and making runs into the box and finishing. He crashes the box constantly, his timing is fantastic and he always seems to finish so, again, that's very difficult stop. No one can stop Jude Bellingham running into the box. Whether they can pick him up, mark him a bit tighter within that box remains to be seen.'
Regarding Tuchel's post-match comments after England's quarter-final win over Norway, Carragher defended the manager's straight-talking approach. 'I didn't think there was anything wrong at all with Thomas Tuchel's comments. He's probably a little bit emotional after the game, England didn't play particularly well and could've easily lost that game against Norway. There was a spell in extra-time where Martin Odegaard was starting to run the game, Norway hit the bar and you were thinking England were going to go out. Again, it was a piece of magic from Jude Bellingham, so I totally understand Tuchel. Also, we know Thomas Tuchel, he was like that at Chelsea. That's one of his plus points. He tells you straight, we saw it with Djed Spence in this tournament. A manager has to be decisive and make big decisions in a World Cup. You can't wait, this only comes around every four years so things need to happen right away. So I thought the interview from the manager was brilliant.'
Rivalry with Argentina
Carragher also reflected on the historical rivalry between England and Argentina, noting that current players may not feel the same intensity given the time since the Falklands War and Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal. 'I always think international football is a bit different from club football in that we sort of know everybody's rival in club football, everyone has three or four of them. It's a little bit different in international football and sometimes something sparks that rivalry. Obviously we go back to the early 1980s, the Falklands War, Diego Maradona in 1986, but a lot of these players in the squad now… we're talking 40 years ago or more so a lot of the players now, it'll be difficult for them to remember what was going on in that day. But when you think of England rivals then you naturally think of Scotland, Germany, for obvious reasons, and you also think of Argentina, so they're our three rivals. When you beat them it probably feels a bit sweeter and a little bit worse when you lose.'
