English analyst is certain: “Madueke and company are going to take him out.”
1 min readFormer PSV player Noni Madueke will face England on Wednesday night in the semi-final of the 2026 World Cup, in which reigning world champions Argentina will be the opponent. It will be the first time since the 2002 World Cup that both countries will meet each other at the global finals.
Back then, England won 0-1 thanks to a converted penalty by David Beckham. For Beckham, it was a personal act of revenge since the former world footballer at the 1998 World Cup had to go off with red against Argentina and was even threatened with death by the English public.
The Three Lions will also have to struggle to deal with Lionel Messi on Wednesday evening, and according to former footballer Joe Cole, this will happen too. Cole says this in the podcast The Rest is Football.
''We will have to take Lionel Messi out of the game. And we are going to take him out of the game. We are definitely going to do it, 100 percent. I’m saying it already now: England will reach the World Cup final. We are too fast for Argentina and we are going to beat them, I can feel it in my bones!'', Cole is convinced.
Ally McCoist, a former international for Scotland, sees the team of national coach Thomas Tuchel as the third-best team still competing at the World Cup. ''At the moment, England is the third-best team still in the tournament. France seems to be the best team in the tournament, but let's focus on the semi-final,'' the Scot says.
Then McCoist thinks that England has a better chance than Argentina. ''But the good news is that you are playing against a team that I think you are better than. I think England is better than Argentina. Defensively, Argentina is not great, but going forward we know that Messi can do something out of nowhere and you have to be careful for that. But what a match awaits us there'', said the former footballer.
Comments8
Wie denkt mee? If the coach keeps trusting the same rotation, we might be sitting ducks late in the game 👀
Sangare looked like the anchor today, and that is exactly why i want him on the pitch every week. When he wins it, the whole team moves faster... football is about timing, not vibes 🔥⚽
I disagree with the idea that the next match is all about "control". Against teams like that, you need real pressure and intensity, not just possession. Otherwise we will get punished when they switch play.
That timing in the build-up looked clean, and the movement from the winger was fire 🔥. Give me more of that, especially when the fullback steps up.
"Inside PSV" always makes it sound so clean, but tbh the buildup is still too slow when the fullback gets pinned. If the winger is not getting in behind, we end up crossing into nothing, smh 🤡
tbh i like the plan, but im still not convinced the midfield balance is right. If we lose second balls in the center, our press turns into chasing ghosts 😅
If PSV really wants to play with that higher line, we better be solid in the duels at the back. Otherwise those quick counters will hurt us fast.
If PSV are going with that high press again, i just hope they keep the midfield connected, because last time the gaps between Til and the 10 were basically an invitation. Defensively it looked shaky even when the ball was recovered, not a fan of that risk.