Lionel Scaloni has attempted to scale down the emotion of Wednesday’s seismic World Cup semifinal, but his assertion that “it is a soccer game, and that is all” is likely to fall on deaf ears.
Scaloni’s Argentina team is somehow one of the last four standing. The holders have flirted with elimination at every knockout stage, with a Julián Alvarez wonderstrike the latest saving grace. They’re a soccer team unlike any other, bereft of logic and reason, yet they only know how to win.
Wednesday’s clash will evoke memories of 1986, when Diego Maradona’s cunning genius helped Argentina bypass England with a ferocious Falklands backdrop.
Its general struggles in North America, often masked by Lionel Messi’s sustained brilliance, has many wondering whether Scaloni will change tack in Atlanta, but the Argentina boss is unlikely to make sweeping changes for Argentina’s first meeting with the Three Lions in over 20 years.
Here’s how the World Cup holders could line up in Atlanta.
Argentina Predicted Lineup vs. England
Pick Your Argentina Starting XI!
GK: Emiliano Martínez—It’s a battle of two charismatic goalkeepers in Atlanta, with Martínez still yet to produce a standout display to save his country despite the team’s flaws. Perhaps England will be defied by the Aston Villa man.
RB: Nahuel Molina—England will surely earmark Molina as the man they have to target on Wednesday night, with the Atlético Madrid fullback enduring a tough tournament up to this point.
CB: Cristian Romero—“We will give our souls against England,” Romero insisted after Argentina’s quarterfinal triumph. England must be thinking about how they can rile up a defender who’s very familiar with disciplinary trouble.
CB: Lisandro Martínez—Martínez bounced back from a tough performance against Egypt by making a crucial intervention or two in the quarterfinal. He’ll have to keep his partner in check on Wednesday, with the emotion of the occasion potentially leading to disaster.
LB: Nicolás Tagliafico—Tagliafico has seemingly leapfrogged Facundo Medina in the depth chart, with the left back an able but hardly spectacular option in all phases.
RM: Giuliano Simeone—It was his father, Diego, who played the role of antagonist in Argentina’s World Cup meeting with England in 1998, and Giuliano may be brought in here to ensure the holders have a source of width that doesn’t come from a fullback.
CM: Alexis Mac Allister—Mac Allister opened the scoring last time out, but there have been questions as to whether Scaloni will make a midfield change. It could come down to the Liverpool man or Rodrigo De Paul, who’s struggled in the knockouts after a strong start to the tournament.
CM: Leandro Paredes—Paredes has worked his way back into Scaloni’s plans this summer and has been the best-performing Argentinian midfielder during the knockout stages.
LM: Enzo Fernández—Fernández is familiar with plenty of the England roster in Atlanta, and has the makings of an unpopular match-winner on English shores.
ST: Lionel Messi—Much of England’s planning will focus on stymying Messi, who’s never faced the Three Lions in his illustrious career. The Albiceleste found a way to win without Messi finding the scoresheet last time out.
