'Messi can be a weakness...': England legend's bold prediction ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal

England will face Argentina in a bid to advance to the FIFA World Cup final for the first time since 1966. Ahead of the clash at Atlanta Stadium on July 15, England's legendary footballer Wayne Rooney believes that Lionel Messi can be a weakness for Argentina's defense as he doesn't run back often.

“He can be a weakness defensively for Argentina. He doesn’t run back, but he has big moments a bit like with Jude Bellingham. He has big moments and moments of quality. The thing with Messi is his decision-making – he comes to life in moments of the game and he makes the right decision. Marking Lionel Messi is about concentration and communication. Communicating with your team-mates about picking up positions you might not usually pick up,” Rooney said on BBC Sport.

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Messi has 125 goals from 205 international games. The 39-year-old is yet to go up against England in his career, sporting the Argentina jersey.

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Meanwhile, former England defender Micah Richards expressed that England are capable of outrunning Argentina but Messi can still conjure moments of genius. He sees Messi not running back as a strength and not weakness as it makes marking him tough. He compared him to England's Bellingham  and is anticipating a great clash between the two sides.

Messi in golden boot race after no goal vs Switzerland

Argentina beat Switzerland 3-1 whereas England got past Norway with a 2-1 win in their respective quarterfinal clashes. But, Messi couldn’t score against Switzerland, ending his streak of goal-scoring in the tournament. Including the games before the tournament, Messi had a scoring streak of nine games which ended at Kansas City. 

Messi is second in the race for the golden boot with eight goals and two assists. The top spot currently belongs to France's Kylian Mbappe with eight goals and three assists. For England, Jude Bellingham and captain Harry Kane are level with six goals and an assist each.

When was the last time England reached semifinals?

England have reached FIFA World Cup finals only thrice so far. The first time they reached the semifinal, they qualified for the final as well and beat West Germany 4-2 to win the trophy in 1966 at Wembley Stadium. 24 years later in 1990, England faced West Germany in the semifinal. After 1-1, they lost to West Germany on penalties. In 2018, they reached the semifinal. Croatia beat England 2-1 in a game that went into the extra time.