Carragher: England Must Attack Messi to Reach World Cup Final

Jamie Carragher believes England’s best hope of reaching the World Cup final is not just stopping Lionel Messi – but attacking him.

Messi, 39, has lit up the tournament again, with eight goals and two assists driving Argentina to the brink of a second straight final. Thomas Tuchel’s England, still searching for their first World Cup final appearance in 60 years, now stand between him and Atlanta on Sunday.

Carragher’s message is blunt: respect Messi, plan for him, but don’t be scared of him.

‘Exploit Messi – he only defends with his eyes’

“It’s nothing new with Messi. He’s been around for 20 years and no one has found the answer,” Carragher said, underlining the scale of England’s task.

“There has to be a plan. I don’t think it will be a man-marking job, but they need a plan. The players will be expecting that. It’s not admitting defeat in any way. You’re coming up against arguably the greatest player of all time. He’s shown that in this tournament too.”

Then came the twist.

“Also, they should be thinking about how they can exploit Lionel Messi as well. He walks about when the opposition have got the ball, so that doesn’t mean England’s left-back should stand next to him for the whole of the game.

“They can exploit the fact that Argentina only defend with nine outfield players.”

In other words, if Messi isn’t tracking back, England’s left side cannot afford to simply babysit him. They have to turn that into a weapon: overload Argentina’s right, force their defence to shuffle, and make Messi’s freedom a problem for his own team.

Echoes of Croatia – and space to attack

Carragher expects the semi-final in Atlanta to suit England more than some of the more cagey ties they have endured.

“I don’t think there’s too much between the teams. I’m hoping that this game has got elements of the Croatia game in it, where you’re playing against a side who fancy themselves as a good team,” he said.

“I certainly don’t think they’ll be getting everybody behind the ball. They’ll try to tackle us, and will that leave space for ourselves to attack? Their full-backs like to go high and wide, but they don’t really play with wingers, so maybe that’s something we can exploit.

“I’m hoping that it’s a different type of game than what we’ve seen from the majority of England games throughout this competition. I still don’t think England have been anywhere near the best in performance-wise.”

The pattern he’s hinting at is clear: Argentina will want the ball, will want to push on, and that might finally drag this England side into the kind of open, high-quality contest they’ve struggled to find so far.

Tuchel’s blunt verdict – and Bellingham’s response

Tuchel’s own assessment after the quarter-final win over Norway raised eyebrows. The German was openly critical of England’s use of the ball and said they had almost thrown the game away.

Jude Bellingham, asked about those comments in the heat of the aftermath, pushed back, pointing to the brutal conditions in Miami, where the temperature climbed above 33C and the humidity made it feel closer to 40C.

Carragher, though, dismissed any idea of a rift.

“I didn’t think there was anything wrong at all with Tuchel’s comments,” he said. “He’s probably a little bit emotional after the game. England didn’t play particularly well and could have easily lost that game against Norway.

“I totally understand Tuchel. We know what he was like at Chelsea. That’s one of his plus points. He tells you straight. You’ve seen him against [Djed] Spence in this tournament.

“In a World Cup, a manager’s got to be decisive. He’s got to make big decisions, he’s got to tell people straight. You can’t wait. Things need to happen right away. I thought the interview from the manager was brilliant.

“Jude, again, he’s emotional after the game. He’s just scored a couple of goals, and then he’s realised how hard it was on the pitch, and the conditions as well. I could understand that, but Thomas Tuchel will be absolutely fine with that.”

Honesty from the manager, emotion from the star midfielder – for Carragher, that’s not a crisis. It’s the reality of a World Cup dressing room under pressure.

Saka over Madueke – no saving players for a final

Tuchel’s selection dilemmas are easing. Declan Rice is fit again. Reece James has returned with minutes off the bench against Norway. The real debate now sits on the right flank.

Noni Madueke has started four times this summer, Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka three. Saka has been wrestling with fitness issues throughout the tournament, and his form has yet to hit its usual level.

Carragher would still pick him.

“I think Madueke’s had a lot of chances in this tournament,” he said. “It hasn’t quite happened for him. Saka certainly hasn’t been at his best, but as we know, he’s not 100 per cent fit.

“I’m just hoping with each minute or longer he’s on the pitch and other appearances, we start to see a little bit of what we know of Bukayo Saka.

“These are the games you take a chance in. If he’s right, or you think you can get something from him, you’ve got to pick him. There’s no worrying about what comes after that. I know it’s a World Cup final after that, but this game is too important.”

That’s the crux of England’s week. They can plan for Messi, they can argue about Tuchel’s tone, they can weigh Saka against Madueke. None of it will matter if they look past Argentina and the man who still walks, and still kills, games at his own pace.