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England vs Argentina Predictions & Betting Tips - Lionel Messi to Make the Difference in the World Cup Semi-Finals

Matthew Marshall

Editor

Last updated: Wed 15 Jul 2026 12:57

Matthew Marshall 15 Jul 2026

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Lionel Messi has scored 8 goals at the World Cup
This will be Argentina’s sixth World Cup clash against England
I am backing Messi to make the difference in the semi-finals

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Lionel Messi of Argentina (Getty Images)

Lionel Messi has scored 21 goals in 31 appearances at the World Cup (Getty)

England and Argentina have not been convincing in the knockout rounds which makes this in intriguing clash.

Mentality could make the difference in this one, Lionel Messi to come to the fore and fire his side into a second straight final.

HTH - Three Lions on Top
Bellingham Keeping England Alive
England Team News & Predicted Line Up
Messi's Magic Guiding Argentina
Argentina Team News & Predicted Line Up

HTH - Three Lions on Top

England lead Argentina 6-2 alongside six draws. All five competitive clashes have come at the World Cup, the Three Lions winning three times.

Diego Maradona scored twice in Argentina’s 2-1 win in 1986 before David Beckham was sent off in 1998, the South American side prevailing in a penalty shootout.

The last meeting came in 2002, Beckham’s penalty the difference in a 1-0 victory.

Bellingham Keeping England Alive

England have yet to hit their stride at the World Cup but keep getting it done. Harry Kane scored twice in a 4-2 win over Croatia before an unlucky 0-0 draw against Ghana.

Jude Bellingham opened the scoring against Panama with Kane wrapping up a routine 2-0 win. The knockout rounds have been a real battle, falling behind against DR Congo before two late goals to Kane secured a 2-1 victory.

Bellingham has come to the fore in England's previous two wins, scoring the opening two goals against Mexico. Jarell Quansah’s 54th minute red card made it tense, but Kane’s penalty gave England some breathing room and they held on to secure a courageous 3-2 win at the Azteca.

Thomas Tuchel’s side were below their best against Norway but more heroics from Bellingham got them out of jail. He equalised on the stroke of half-time and bagged an added time goal to seal a 2-1 victory.

The manager thought his side could have performed better but praised the result: "We made life very difficult for ourselves. The result is fantastic but I'm not happy with the performance. I'm impressed with the effort, team spirit and belief to overcome adversity.

"But I am also a football coach and I think we can play better. We had a lot of momentum swings for both teams. We made life difficult in the way we played, sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough."

England Team News & Predicted Line Up

Jordan Henderson is recovering from a broken arm and Jarell Quansah serves his suspension suffered against Mexico.

Ezri Konsa and Reece James compete to start at right-back. Noni Madueke is likely to be replaced by Bukayo Saka on the right wing in the England line-up.

Declan Rice was ill before the clash against Norway and was taken off at half-time. Tuchel confirmed he had spent three days in bed before the match but he is expected to make a full recovery and start against Argentina.

ness - but BBC Sport reported on Monday there was optimism his condition had improved enough for him to take his place in the team on Wednesday.

England (4-2-3-1): Jordan Pickford; Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Marc Guéhi, Nico O’Reilly; Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson; Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane

Messi's Magic Guiding Argentina

Argentina cruised through the group stage, Lionel Messi hitting a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria and scoring twice in a 2-0 victory against Austria. He came off the bench to score in a 3-1 win against Jordan.

La Albiceleste haven’t done it as easy in the knockout rounds. Messi scored first against Cabo Verde but they needed an own goal in Miami to secure a 3-2 victory in extra time.

Lionel Scaloni's side were in deep trouble against Egypt in the Round of 32, trailing 2-0 in the closing stages. Messi assisted Cristian Romero and scored again before Enzo Fernández’s added time goal sealed another 3-2 win.

Alexis Mac Allister’s early goal set Argentina on their way against Switzerland before being pegged back in the second half. Breel Embolo’s red card turned the contest in their favour, Julián Alvarez and Lautaro Martínez netting in extra time as they went through 3-1 in Kansas City.

Argentina Team News & Predicted Line Up

Lionel Scaloni could stick with the same side that started against Switzerland. Julián Alvarez should continue up front with Lautaro Martínez coming off the bench.

Scaloni said his team will go “all in with whatever (they) have left” against England.

Argentina (4-4-2): Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Cristián Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi, Julián Alvarez

Verdict

England v Argentina

These nations have met five times at the World Cup and often produced thrillers. I think this one will be no different, Lionel Messi to follow in Diego Maradona’s footsteps and fire Argentina into the final.

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Matthew Marshall is an Australian who worked in a number of industries before combining his love of football and media communications degree to become a sports journalist. Now living in Portugal, he is a Portuguese football expert at PortuGOAL and has covered multiple UEFA U21 European Championships, the 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2024 European Championship.