England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford stressed that they cannot solely focus on Lionel Messi when they come up against the Argentina star for the first time in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final.
Thomas Tuchel’s men take on the defending world champions in Atlanta in what marks the first meeting between the two fierce international rivals for over 20 years.
Their last encounter was back in November 2005 in a memorable friendly, which the Three Lions won 3-2. Messi had made his Argentina debut just under three months earlier but did not feature in that game.
Messi has scored a stunning 125 goals in his 205 caps for Argentina, both records for his country, and finally lifted the World Cup when La Albiceleste beat France on penalties after a stunning 2022 final.
Yet the 39-year-old, who has scored eight goals in this tournament to put Argentina a win away from a final with either 2022 opponents France or European champions Spain, has never had the chance to emulate Diego Maradona by scoring against England in a World Cup.
Messi will imminently get that opportunity but, after England kept Erling Haaland off the scoresheet in their 2-1 over Norway in the quarter-finals, Pickford made it clear they will not simply be concentrating on the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star.
Speaking of facing Messi, Pickford told a press conference: “He’s scored so many goals and he’s contributed to so many goals over his career.
“It’s great to finally come up against him. We all know how good Messi is, but we all know how good Argentina is, so we can’t just solely rely on Messi, we’ve got to focus on the other strengths as well and the other weaknesses we can take advantage of.
“They’ve got very individuals and they’re a good team so we’ve got to be wary of them all.
“It’s us against them to get a place in the final, it’s a game of football, 90 minutes, 120, penalties. We’re ready for anything.
“It’s us against them at the end of the day and it’s about who comes out on top and we’re fully prepared for that.”
