{"id":102638,"date":"2026-07-13T10:48:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T10:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/102638\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T10:48:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T10:48:21","slug":"how-england-can-test-argentina-beware-messis-corners-get-bellingham-in-behind-and-target-full-backs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/102638\/","title":{"rendered":"How England can test Argentina: Beware Messi\u2019s corners, get Bellingham in behind and target full-backs"},"content":{"rendered":"

No team reaches a World Cup semi-final by accident.<\/p>\n

Argentina will face England after a 3-1 victory over Switzerland, with Lionel Scaloni\u2019s side requiring extra time after another performance that was decided by individual quality more than fluid attacking cohesion.<\/p>\n

Performances are secondary to results in major international football, but there has been a fallibility to Argentina \u2014 much like their upcoming opponents, England. It is made more stark when comparing both sides with France and Spain on the other side of the draw, as two teams who have been head and shoulders above all other nations.<\/p>\n

Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app<\/a><\/p>\n

Those individual moments have invariably shone through from Argentina, typically at the mercurial feet of Lionel Messi. Against Switzerland, it was Julian Alvarez\u2019s curling effort from distance that pulled his side ahead, before Lautaro Martinez put them out of sight with seconds to spare.<\/p>\n

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\n Julian Alvarez, centre, celebrates Argentina\u2019s second goal against Switzerland (Carl Recine\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The World Cup champions should not be underestimated, but if you are an English fan, there were clues from Argentina\u2019s quarter-final on how to nullify their key strengths\u2026<\/p>\n

Look out for set pieces<\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s opening goal came from a corner scored by Alexis Mac Allister, making it their sixth set-piece goal (including penalties) of the tournament. No team has scored more from dead-ball situations this summer.<\/p>\n

As the chief set-piece taker, Messi\u2019s outswinging deliveries from the left side have led to each of Argentina\u2019s three corner goals. Mac Allister\u2019s header was glanced from a near-post delivery, but a closer look shows that this has been a consistently targeted area.<\/p>\n

Whether an inswinger from the right or an outswinger from the left, a delivery to the front post has been a pattern in the majority of Messi\u2019s deliveries.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

What Argentina might lack in physical height, they make up for in tenacity and aerial presence, with England needing to be on high alert after poor set-piece defending on multiple occasions in their quarter-final with Norway.<\/p>\n

Cut off Argentina\u2019s supply line<\/p>\n

Argentina were toothless for long periods on Saturday.<\/p>\n

After Mac Allister\u2019s headed goal, Scaloni\u2019s side failed to have another shot on target in regulation time \u2014 a statistic made all the more damning when considering they were playing against 10 men from the 72nd minute.<\/p>\n

If you are going to restrict Argentina\u2019s chances, keeping Messi quiet helps.<\/p>\n

This is hardly new information. Many teams have learned that the 39-year-old does not need to be heavily involved to punish you out of nowhere, but cutting off his supply line is an approach that is more sensible than attempting to stop him directly.<\/p>\n

Messi had just 14 touches in the attacking third and registered no shots before Breel Embolo\u2019s second-half sending off, with Argentina struggling to develop territorial dominance for long periods of regulation time, as The Athletic\u2019s match momentum graphic outlines.<\/p>\n

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Without natural wingers, Argentina\u2019s width will often come from their full-backs, particularly Nicolas Tagliafico pushing high on the left.<\/p>\n

Tagliafico was notable by his absence going forward, pushed deeper by Switzerland and managing just three touches in the attacking third in the opening 90 minutes \u2014 comfortably the fewest of the three games that he has started in this tournament.<\/p>\n

As the passing network outlines below, Tagliafico\u2019s average positioning was far closer to his own goal, with Argentina\u2019s overall possession looking far more fragmented compared to their dramatic win over Egypt in the round of 16.<\/p>\n

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Cutting off the route to Argentina\u2019s most threatening attacking avenues can prove fruitful, and there was a notable lack of pace and penetration in wide areas against Switzerland.<\/p>\n

Going around the side of Argentina can be a lucrative method of attack, with Switzerland, Egypt, Cape Verde and Jordan all scoring from crosses or wide combinations.<\/p>\n

Full-backs might be important for Scaloni\u2019s style going forward, but it has been a weakness of Argentina\u2019s too.<\/p>\n

Deep runs against the back line<\/p>\n

The Switzerland game had a different complexion from Argentina versus Egypt, where an early concession meant Scaloni\u2019s side were chasing the lead for long periods.<\/p>\n

Egypt sat deeper to frustrate and condense the space, packing a strong counter-attacking punch that exposed a lack of athleticism in Argentina when they committed bodies forward. It tapped into a wider theme of exactly how the world champions could be exposed in their defensive approach.<\/p>\n

graphics\u00a0 id=\u201dshowcase-link_cyCU45YvjB3K\u201d]<\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s limited defensive output is hardly a shock, meaning Scaloni\u2019s out-of-possession approach is largely built on a zonal structure rather than an aggressive press.<\/p>\n

Per FIFA\u2019s dataset, 45 per cent of Argentina\u2019s total time spent out of possession has been in a mid or a low block (the highest share among the four semi-finalists) with centre-backs Lisandro Martinez and Cristian Romero operating best when they have the game in front of them.<\/p>\n

Before Embolo\u2019s dismissal, there were signs that could show how Argentina\u2019s back line could be exposed. Martinez\u2019s tendency to track runners and remain touch-tight to his opponent could open up the opportunity for runners to expose the space he vacates.<\/p>\n

In the example below, Martinez jumps from the back line to cut out a potential pass to Fabian Rieder, giving Djibril Sow the chance to curve his run in behind (black line) with no pressure on Switzerland\u2019s man in possession. On that occasion, the opportunity was not taken.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Martinez will often make the correct decision in tracking runners, but better counter-movement from Switzerland would have exposed a gaping hole in Argentina\u2019s back line after Embolo made the space with a diagonal run. Again, this opportunity was wasted.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

The same was true of Romero on the right side of defence. More lack of pressure on the ball, with a centre-back stepping out to leave space in behind. In the example below, there were two Swiss players who could have made threatening runs (black lines).<\/p>\n

They are the sort of runs that England\u2019s Jude Bellingham loves to make.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

A higher defensive line coupled with a lack of pressure on the ball is asking for trouble, and it nearly led to a Switzerland goal in the second half.<\/p>\n

Romero jumps from his position, leaving space for Embolo to run into as Switzerland briefly have a two-vs-one in behind. If not for a last-ditch challenge from Martinez, Argentina could have been ruing such a lapse in defensive concentration.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

One thing that can never be levelled at Argentina is their lack of grit and determination to secure out victory. They have needed extra-time twice (and a whirlwind 15 minutes against Egypt) to reach a second consecutive semi-final, but moments of magic from their star players have been a theme.<\/p>\n

As manager of Argentina, Scaloni is unbeaten in 10 games against European opposition (won seven, drawn three), which should provide his side with confidence of progressing to back-to-back finals. However, there are ways to nullify his side, as Switzerland demonstrated for long periods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No team reaches a World Cup semi-final by accident. Argentina will face England after a 3-1 victory over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102639,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[3350,31646,17],"class_list":["post-102638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-england","tag-fifa-mens-world-cup","tag-switzerland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116912279143366802","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}