Many figures in English media, including former players, have had a lot of comments about Lionel Messi, and they might come to regret it.
With a tense game against Argentina coming up, many in the English media have boasted about their team’s chances in the FIFA World Cup semi-final.
Several pundits, including former England players, have made some bold statements about their chances against Argentina, especially with Lionel Messi on the other side.
Several English pundits say England can handle Argentina and Lionel Messi easily
In the lead-up to Wednesday night’s game, several former English players have voiced their opinions on the upcoming semi-final tie against Argentina.
Players like Joe Cole, Ian Wright, John Terry, and Gary Neville, who have represented England in the past, believe Argentina and Messi don’t have the capacity to defeat the Three Lions.
Joe Cole: “Messi’s first time playing against England? Well, we’re going to put him to sleep. We’re going to put him to sleep. Yeah, 100%.”
Troy Deeney: “I think we’ll batter Argentina. We’ll win at least 2–0, comfortably.”
John Terry: “Argentina doesn’t worry me. I don’t look at Argentina and think they’re better than us. Player for player, we’re better than Argentina.”
Ian Wright: “I think we will beat Argentina. The way they play and how narrow they are. I think we are going to block them and break them.”
Gary Neville: “With the centre backs they have, I can’t see us not scoring at least 2 goals. We’re faster, quicker, we’ve got a better squad.”
Lionel Messi and Argentina have shown that poking them isn’t a good idea in the past
England are far from the first team that have talked about how they will handle Argentina in a big tournament game.
In 2021, Yerry Mina of Colombia danced after they eliminated Uruguay in the Copa America. Ahead of the game against Argentina, he and other Colombian players decided to make some stern comments about Argentina.
After defeating them on penalties, Lionel Messi and other Argentinian players clapped back at Mina and the Colombian players for their comments, with Messi even yelling ‘dance now’ after Emiliano Martinez saved his penalty in the shootout.
A year and a half later, Netherlands head coach Louis Van Gaal made comments about their strategy to handle Lionel Messi and Argentina in a penalty shootout.
This led to tensions being high going into the game. We saw a more aggressive side of Lionel Messi in the game, which ironically ended in a penalty shootout win for Argentina.
While it is commendable that English fans and pundits have shown so much confidence in their team, Argentina and Lionel Messi are not a side to be trifled with.
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