ATLANTA — England coach Thomas Tuchel said he has considered man-marking Lionel Messi in Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal against Argentina.
Messi is the tournament’s joint-top scorer on eight goals along with Kylian Mbappé and will face England for the first time in his illustrious career at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The winner will take on Spain in Sunday’s final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“I was thinking about this, if we do a proper old school man-mark [on Messi],” Tuchel said in his prematch news conference on Tuesday.
“I’m not sure if we follow through with this idea but it crossed my mind. I think everyone knows the spaces where he wants to show up. It’s just like, you analyse the matches, you feel he just sees stuff earlier than anyone else on the field.”
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Messi’s eight goals, which have been accompanied by two assists, means he is now the all-time scoring leader in World Cup history with 21 goals.
“It’s just like the ball drops to him, he finds the gap, he makes himself the space for his left foot and then executes the solution on the very highest level,” Tuchel added. “I think we found some patterns in their game of course but if we close the patterns he will find a new one or create a new one.
“It is his super strength, it is just what it is. It is an exciting setup, it is very unique to play against the reigning champions, it is very unique to play against Leo Messi and his team. It is unique to play with England against Argentina. It is just a big match in every department.”
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Tuchel said everyone is fit to start aside against Argentina apart from Jordan Henderson following his broken arm and Jarell Quansah, who is suspended.
He also sought to play down the importance of the fierce rivalry between England are Argentina on and off the field as a factor in the game.
“We don’t use it as a fuel,” said Tuchel. “We know why we’re here. We know what we want. We were never shy of expecting that from us, of saying it, of dreaming it. We are in the semifinals. We arrive very hungry, we want to have the next win.
“We respect our opponent but we don’t dip into historic events and don’t make it bigger than it is. It is a big football match, a big occasion. We are very excited, grateful, hungry and ready to go.”
Tuchel also reflected on England’s dramatic run to the semifinals, featuring a late comeback win against Congo DR before beating Mexico 3-2 in Azteca Stadium and grinding their way past Norway after extra time in the sweltering Miami heat.
“You have non-stop knockout football which is quite nerve-wracking, especially if you follow our way with red cards, with going behind, VAR checks and over-time,” he said.
“We had to ride some rollercoaster experiences that cost a lot. It is kind of draining. We played in altitude, we played in the heat, we had to travel in between.
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“It is both I think. I can tell you that it fuels me, it makes me feel alive. I love it so much that it gives me energy every day but if you analyse then the next opponent instead of maybe having a day off to recover, you start analysing again because most of the time for us, it was only three days between the matches.”
Asked how he switched off, Tuchel said: “I try to do my morning sport and sometimes you just go on a bike, you just need a big parking lot and an ice cream in your hand for 15 minutes and you feel like a 15-year-old, not 50.
“You enjoy your evening in a warm summer evening for 15 minutes and you reconnect to the beauty of that feeling we all have inside of us. That’s sometimes all it needs.”
