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Argentina 2-1 England player ratings: Messi gets 9/10 with 2 assists while Chelsea & Spurs stars shine

16 July 2026 at 01:35

Argentina have beaten England and made it to the World Cup final, with Lionel Messi and co. now preparing to take on Spain.

Anthony Gordon gave England the lead in Wednesday night’s semi-final, but Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez scored twice late on to send the Three Lions out of the World Cup.

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For England, the 60 years of hurt goes on, and they’ll have to look back at what ended up being a pretty negative performance against Argentina.

Thomas Tuchel went far too defensive after England went ahead, so it’s not exactly the players’ fault, but here’s our look at how the players from both sides rated…

Argentina 2-1 England World Cup semi-final player ratings

Jordan Pickford – 6

Reece James – 7

Djed Spence – 7

Marc Guehi – 6

John Stones – 6

Declan Rice – 7.5

Elliot Anderson – 6

Jude Bellingham – 6.5

Morgan Rogers – 7

Anthony Gordon – 7.5

Harry Kane – 6

Not too many stand-out performers there from England, but Rogers and Gordon combined well for the goal, while Rice also played his part and generally worked hard in a difficult midfield battle. James and Spence were also in good form at both ends of the pitch, with the latter particularly impressive with one last-ditch challenge in the second half.

Emiliano Martinez – 6

Nahuel Molina – 6

Nicolas Tagliafico – 6

Cristian Romero – 8

Lisandro Martinez – 7

Leandro Paredes – 7

Alexis Mac Allister – 6.5

Enzo Fernandez – 8

Giulio Simeone – 6

Julian Alvarez – 7

Lionel Messi – 9

Argentina were not exactly spectacular, but Messi and Fernandez produced when it mattered and that will give them confidence against Spain in the final. A word too to Romero, who hasn’t always been at his best in a Tottenham shirt, but who looked like a real leader at the back tonight in an important game, keeping Kane quiet throughout.

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Who do you think will win this weekend’s final now? Give us your predictions in the comments!

The post Argentina 2-1 England player ratings: Messi gets 9/10 with 2 assists while Chelsea & Spurs stars shine appeared first on CaughtOffside.

“I’m not a fan of…” – Thomas Tuchel gives interesting response to Lionel Messi question

15 July 2026 at 17:58

England manager Thomas Tuchel has dodged a question about whether he thinks Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time.

The German tactician is preparing to lead the Three Lions against Argentina in tonight’s World Cup semi-final clash, and stopping Messi will probably be the tactic he most needs to get right.

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Messi has never played against England before, so it will be interesting to see what he can do, but he goes into this game in superb form as he’s joint-top of the Golden Boot charts at the World Cup so far.

See below as Tuchel discusses Messi’s quality, but falls short of declaring him the best player ever, as he admits he’s not a fan of lists like that…

‘We’re NOT here to build him a throne’ ?

Thomas Tuchel on the challenge Lionel Messi and Argentina pose for England ?????????#ITVFootball | @England | @gabrielclarke05 pic.twitter.com/L5c9xfnERb

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 15, 2026

Tuchel also sent a clear message about not worshipping Messi too much, which seems like the right kind of mentality for England if they are to avoid being overawed by the 39-year-old.

How can England stop Lionel Messi?

Tuchel also spoke in another video clip about how he’s tempted to try an old-school man-marking system to keep Messi quiet.

See below as the England manager admitted to that kind of plan crossing his mind, though he obviously wouldn’t reveal one way or another if he’d definitely choose that particular option, as it might not be something that works on Messi anyway…

How Thomas Tuchel and England are planning on stopping Lionel Messi… ?? pic.twitter.com/iaF3mSpYUe

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 15, 2026

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Ultimately, it might just be best not to focus too much on Messi, as throughout his career he’s got the better of pretty much every top defence you can think of.

Player Goals Assists
Kylian Mbappe 8 3
Lionel Messi 8 1
Erling Haaland 7 0
Harry Kane 6 1
Jude Bellingham 6 1

It might work best for England if they just focus on their own game tonight, and do their best to keep the ball, create chances, and limit what Messi can do by simply being the better team.

That’s easier said than done, of course, but if they retreat and make everything about stopping Messi, chances are he’ll find at least one moment of immense quality to undo all that work anyway.

The post “I’m not a fan of…” – Thomas Tuchel gives interesting response to Lionel Messi question appeared first on CaughtOffside.

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