England outlasted Norway to make its second World Cup semifinal in the last three tournaments.
Argentina needed extra time to beat Switzerland in another dramatic win for the reigning champions.
The winner of this semifinal will face either France or Spain on July 19.
An old rivalry resumes after over 20 years as England take on Argentina for a place in the World Cup final. The teams entered the tournament among the favorites, and they’ve lived up to expectations, though there have been some bumps along the way. England hasn’t made a World Cup final since winning it all in 1966, while Argentina is hoping to make it for a second straight time.
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England vs Argentina will be a battle of the superstars. On one side, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane have been lighting up the tournament, having combined for 12 of England’s 13 goals and producing them in clutch moments. On the other side, Lionel Messi continues to carry Argentina on his seemingly immortal shoulders, scoring eight goals and assisting twice despite being 39 years old.
Bellingham has been especially impressive over the last two games, scoring two braces to power England past Mexico and Norway. England certainly needed him to step up against Norway, after a disappointing team performance that drew the ire of Thomas Tuchel. England remains a sporadic team, capable of incredible highs in attack but also often stagnating for long periods. Poor communication on defense has also given opponents far too many easy chances.
Argentina has been just as inconsistent. The reigning champions needed extra time to scrape past Switzerland and Cape Verde and needed an all-time comeback to erase a two-goal deficit to Egypt. It’s fair to say Argentina has been riding its luck, relying heavily on Messi and only turning on its top level when it has to. But we said in our last Argentina preview that the team needed more from the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez, and in a positive sign, both scored against Switzerland.
Argentina’s game plan will likely be to overload the right side of England’s defense, which has been a problem all tournament. Reece James likely isn’t fit enough to start, and Jarell Quansah is suspended, so Ezri Konsa should be moved over once again. Meanwhile, England will task Declan Rice, who is recovering from an illness, and Elliott Anderson with congesting and controlling the midfield to hopefully stop Messi from drifting between the lines and pulling the strings.
England (+165)
Both teams have relied on luck and their star players too much in this tournament, but Argentina have done so more, in our opinion. The South Americans have enjoyed a far easier run to the semifinals than the three other teams, but they’ve made hard work of it. England beat Mexico at the Azteca and took down a red-hot Norway team. It hasn’t always been pretty, but England have been just as resilient as Argentina, but against better opposition.
England has also proven itself more flexible, with Tuchel making bold changes with his personnel and formation in reaction to the momentum of a game. Meanwhile, Argentina could be vulnerable due to its tendency to play a higher defensive line with a lack of pressure on the ball. Bellingham’s runs behind the back line have been top-notch this tournament, and he should get opportunities to take advantage.
Over 2.5 Goals (+136)
Argentina is the top-scoring team through the quarterfinal stage with 17 goals, while England has 13. It has to be noted that four of Argentina’s goals have come in extra time, so two of three knockout games failed to hit over 2.5.
But still, these are two attack-minded teams that know they have to score a lot to win games because of inconsistent defenses. Even in a tense semifinal, these two teams should be aggressive. And both ramp up their attacks as the game goes on. Argentina has scored 10 goals after the 75th minute, while England has scored four.
Jude Bellingham (+330)
Bellingham is the conversation for the best player at the tournament, with six goals, including two against Norway to help England win. The star midfielder is tied with Kane for England’s top goal scorer and has actually scored more open-play goals thanks to Kane’s penalty against Mexico.
Now, Kane and Messi rightfully have the shortest odds (+140) at top World Cup betting sites like FanDuel, but Bellingham should arguably be closer, so we’re taking him at +330 all day. His cutting runs into the box, and his pace should be a nightmare for one of the older squads in the tournament.
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