England boss Thomas Tuchel accepts it will be difficult to keep a cool head in the cauldron of tonight’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina.
The two old rivals clash in Atlanta (kick-off 8pm) for the right to face Spain in Sunday’s final.
The political and sporting history between the countries mean there is an extra edge to what would already be an intense occasion and Tuchel concedes emotions will be running high at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Asked if ‘calm heads’ will be the order of the day, the German told BBC Radio 5 Live: “If possible, but I think it’s a lot to ask. I am not so sure you see a lot of calm heads, me included.
“That would be ideal to play with a calm head and a hot heart. I think it will be emotional, anything else would really surprise me and it’s just what both teams bring to the table. They are emotional and a very supportive group within themselves.
“We are also very competitive, if they have the edge, we have the edge. We are proven in several battles now through this tournament. This is of course a big one and we are up for it.”
It will be an emotional game – England boss Tuchel
Neither England nor Argentina have made smooth progress to the last four, the Three Lions requiring extra time to see off Norway on Saturday, as did Argentina against 10-man Switzerland.
Heat, humidity and altitude won’t be a problem tonight, though, with the game being played indoors.
“I expect an emotional game. I expect a physical game. The conditions will be brilliant, so we will try and make it, accept the physicality of it and that is basically it,” added Tuchel.
“We will be asked a lot of questions, they are a complete team, with many years together with a coach. They have the experience of several tournaments together; you can see that.
“Like I said, I think we can match the intensity, maybe even put our intensity on top of them. Then it will be a match of moments and momentums.”
England have weapons to hurt Messi and Argentina
England have been carried to this stage by the brilliance of Jude Bellingham and, to a slightly lesser extent Harry Kane, while defending champions Argentina have eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi.
Tuchel said: “I expect several momentum swings to be honest. They are very strong in possession, very strong in the last third, with a lot of players inside and of course Messi who finds solutions when no one else finds them, but we also have our weapons to hurt them.
“So, we need to dig in, we need to stay focused and we need a complete performance over the whole 90 plus minutes.”
