​England’s path to the semi-finals hasn’t been smooth, but then who has found it easy in a World Cup knockout run? France have shown a tendency to glide through several clashes, yet reaching the business end of these tournaments remains a grind, and that difficulty is appropriate. To win in 2022, Argentina scraped past Australia 2-1 in the round of 16 and then survived penalties in the quarters and the final, following the infamous opener loss to Saudi Arabia. Even the French in 2018 had only one victory by more than a single goal on the way to the final. World Cups are long, demanding campaigns that hinge on peaking at the right moment and sometimes simply finding a way to get the result. England can now craft ways to get the job done, a very handy skill to have.
One key avenue is to have a world-class performer or two who can rescue you from trouble, and England possess two such difference-makers in Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Argentina wouldn’t have won last year’s tournament without Lionel Messi, while France rely on the genius of Kylian Mbappe, with a touch from Ousmane Dembele and Desiré Doue to lend support. These stars act as your “get out of jail free” cards, and Kane and Bellingham have now joined that elite cadre. England weren’t necessarily the better side against Norway or Mexico and may have merely edged DR Congo, but they had Kane and Bellingham to secure the crucial moments. Some might grumble about narrow knockout wins, yet Thomas Tuchel’s pragmatic approach suggests that such margins can still carry a team all the way.
Now Argentina await England in the semi-finals. They are the ultimate pragmatists who also possess an artist surrounded by teammates who can turn a game on a whim when everything else fails. They bring the course and distance advantage as defending champions from Qatar, and their philosophy isn’t far removed from 1986, when Diego Maradona, flanked by eager helpers, forged a glory path for their team. This Argentina side isn’t universally heralded as a great collection of individuals, but they are capable of greatness because they will find a way—by hook or by crook. If they can’t do it beautifully with Messi’s magic, they will grind it out collectively; and if that too falls short, no amount of gamesmanship is off the table.
We witnessed Messi and co. weep after their dramatic win over Egypt in the last 16, and the uproar of tears if they were to bow out to England could feel like a global shift, almost lifting sea levels with the emotion involved. They care about winning this tournament with a depth that seems almost unhealthy—unless, of course, they actually win it. England, in turn, need to match that ferocity, that unyielding will to triumph, that burning desire to lift the trophy.
If there was any doubt about England’s hunger, it dissolved in their clash with Mexico. Only after that gritty performance did it become clear that they possess the fight to rival their talent. That is precisely why Argentina should fear England as much for what they can endure as for what they can produce. In this matchup, a fierce intensity and a willingness to grind could tilt the balance in England’s favor, reinforcing the notion that England’s strength lies not only in flashes of brilliance but in the stubborn, dogged pursuit of victory when it matters most.