Lionel Messi has sent a defiant message to England's players, declaring that his Argentina side will never stop believing as they prepare for Wednesday's World Cup semi-final. The defending champions overcame 10-man Switzerland in Kansas to set up a showdown with Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions in Atlanta, with a place in Sunday's final against either France or Spain at stake.
Messi's Instagram warning
After Argentina's victory, Messi took to Instagram and wrote: 'Again it suffered but this team never stops believing. We're in the top four in the world again!!! Let's f*****g go.' The post, which included an expletive, was a clear warning to England that Argentina remain confident despite their struggles against Switzerland.
Argentina's hard-fought win
Argentina opened the scoring through Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister, who headed home from a corner after just 10 minutes. However, Switzerland equalised deservedly through Dan Ndoye just after the hour mark. Their momentum was halted when Breel Embolo received a second yellow card for diving, following a VAR review that overturned a yellow card for Leandro Paredes. Embolo was visibly distraught as he left the pitch.
Despite being a man down, Switzerland took the game to extra time before Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez sealed the win for Lionel Scaloni's side. 'The truth is that luck was on our side today, because they had a player sent off and, from there, the team went on the attack,' Scaloni said. 'We have to be realistic, we have things to improve on, but winning is always better. That said, what this team achieved today is historic. Even though we could have played better, being in a semi-final again is historic.'
England's comeback victory
England, meanwhile, came from behind to beat Norway, with Jude Bellingham scoring twice. However, Tuchel admitted his side rode their luck and must improve to win the World Cup. 'Absolutely, no one disputes that,' Tuchel said. 'I am impressed with the shift that they put in. The effort, team spirit, the belief and to overcome adversity and to dig in and find ways to win is on the absolutely highest level.'
He added: 'They cannot get enough praise for that. But I'm also a football coach and I think we can play better. In general, I think it was not a high-level game. I think we had better games in general. We had a lot of momentum swings for both teams, so, yeah, full credit to the team. We found a way. We're in the last four. This is, of course, the most important but the analysing head of me and the football coach in me still thinks that we can and have to play better football.'
