England head coach Thomas Tuchel called on his players to seek out their brilliant best during the World Cup semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday in Atlanta.
Issued on: 15/07/2026 - 06:55
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"We will prepare for the best version of Argentina," said Tuchel on the eve of the clash. "We expect and demand the best of ourselves," the 52-year-old German added. "We have not peaked yet but the match will bring the best out of us and we are excited." Argentina, who beat France on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, have been in unconvincing form in their surge to the semi-final. Progress through knockout rounds They needed extra-time to see off World Cup debutants Cape Verde 3-2 in the last 32. Egypt led them 2-0 up until the 79th minute before Argentina came back to win 3-2. And in the quarter-final, Switzerland appeared to have their number. But Argentina's array of stars found moments of magic to win 3-1. England have also creaked rather than glistened in the knockout rounds. Spain outclass France to advance to 2026 World Cup final In the last 32, they came from behind to beat Democratic Republic of Congo 2-1. They erected a 10-man defensive wall in the 3-2 last-16 victory over Mexico and they profited from sheer good luck to dispatch Norway 2-1 in the quarter-finals. "What I like is that I feel the players are really competitive, hungry and excited to play this semi-final," said Tuchel. Moment for history England have not reached the final since they won the World Cup trophy in 1966. On their way to the crown they faced Argentina in the quarter-final. The match was an ill-tempered affair. At the end of the game, the England boss Alf Ramsey prevented his players from swapping shirts and condemned the Argentina players as animals. Acrimony has dogged encounters between the sides since. The 1986 World Cup quarter-final was played four years after Britain and Argentina waged war over the Falkland Islands. In the game, Diego Maradona fooled the officials when he used his hand to push the ball past the England goalkeeper Peter Shilton into the goal. In 1998, during the last 16 tie at the World Cup in France, the England midfielder David Beckham was sent off for a kicking out at Diego Simeone. 'Shirts are iconic' "The two shirts are just iconic," said Tuchel. "There are historic matches, iconic moments and everyone recognises the shirts and players straight away. "I think the players of both countries are very aware of what it means to them. "If a fixture provides so many iconic moments, then you cannot say it is just another football match, but as a coach we do exactly that, focus on what we can influence." Hope of seeing Messi at World Cup fuels young Argentines in Atlanta ticket hunt Immediately after Argentina beat Switzerland lasgt Saturday to set up the semi-final against England, the Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni stressed the game was not about the past.
