Kyle Walker’s text message to John Stones as England prepare for Lionel Messi

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Kyle Walker may not be at the 2026 World Cup, but that hasn’t stopped him from passing on his knowledge to Thomas Tuchel and England.

Kyle Walker faced Lionel Messi on two occasions in Champions League battles, with both featuring Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain. His record stands at one win and one loss, but Messi did manage to score in a 2-0 win for the French side.

The Burnley defender enjoyed a brilliant England career, earning ninety-six caps over fourteen years. He played in five major tournaments, reaching two European Championship finals.

But in March 2026, he officially announced his retirement from international football, ending his chapter as one of the country’s absolute greatest ever right-backs.

Now, all he can do is offer his wisdom and support to the lads.

Here’s our predicted lineup for tonight’s game! What changes would you make? 🤔

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Kyle Walker urges England not to focus too much on Lionel Messi

Speaking to The Sun, Kyle Walker believes that England have too much for Argentina, so there’s no need to worry too much about what Lionel Messi could do.

“But we are good enough for the Argentines to be worrying about us rather than us just concentrating on players like Messi.

“I was debating with the lads at my club, Burnley, whether you would man-mark him. 

“If you do, does that mean you are worrying about him too much without exploring the space behind him when he doesn’t get back as quickly as he should do? 

“I don’t mind man-marking, but I don’t think it’s going to work for us, and he’ll probably take it as a personal challenge to actually show people that you can’t man-mark him. 

“I’d say don’t poke the bear.”

The England players get a message from Kyle Walker

Kyle Walker also shared a text he sent to John Stones after the win over Norway, as well as passing on a message to the England squad in America.

“I messaged my mate Stones after his excellent game against Norway and told him I couldn’t be happier at how this tournament is working out for him.

“I spoke to the player liaison there as well to wish the lads all the best and tell them I’m rooting for them to finally cross that winning line.

“The likes of Jordan Pickford, Stones, Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane are players who started this journey with me, and hopefully can go and get something at the end of it.”