Thomas Tuchel is not overawed by facing the defending champions as his England side prepare to take on Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals.

Jude Bellingham’s double against Norway booked England’s spot in the last four.

Not including penalty shoot-outs, England are unbeaten in their last five internationals against Argentina (W2 D3), winning each of the last two in succession, with the most recent a 3-2 friendly victory in November 2005 thanks to a Michael Owen double and Wayne Rooney strike. 

Tuchel will be aiming to be the fourth manager to reach the World Cup final with a nation other than their home country, and the first since Ernst Happel (Austria) with the Netherlands in 1978.

The German remains unfazed by the prospect of facing the defending champions, who defeated Switzerland in the quarter-finals.

“They have the mentality and the togetherness. They are very competitive and very experienced players in every position,” Tuchel said of Argentina.

“It is rare that you fly through a tournament and everything falls into place. It is normal to overcome difficulties, but it says more about their strengths than weaknesses.

“We will prepare for the best version of Argentina. Every team in the world is beatable.”

Semi-final settings  pic.twitter.com/JvGujvQKVV

— England (@England) July 14, 2026

With his assist against Switzerland, Lionel Messi became the second player on Opta records (since 1966) to record 10+ goal contributions in multiple World Cups (2022 and 2026) after Kylian Mbappe (2022 and 2026).

Messi, who has scored the joint-most goals at the World Cup this year (eight), is preparing for his first-ever match against England.

Tuchel revealed he has thought about different ways of neutralising Messi’s threat, but he knows it will not be easy.

“I was thinking about this, whether we do an old-school man mark!” said the England boss.

“Not sure if we follow through with the idea, but it crossed my mind. Everyone knows the spaces where he wants to show up.

“If you analyse matches, he sees things faster. The ball drops to him, and he finds the gap. 

“We have found some patterns in their games, but if you close the pattern, they will find a new one. It is very unique to play against the reigning champions and Lionel Messi.”