​England win, Messi to score: Ravi Shastri, Michael Vaughan and ex-cricketers drop FIFA World Cup semi-final predictions originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Ravi Shastri, Michael Vaughan, and others gave England World Cup semi-final predictions.All four backed England to beat Argentina in Wednesday’s Atlanta semi-final.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCricket and football rarely collide as neatly as they have this fortnight. As England’s cricketers prepare to chase an ODI series against India, the nation’s footballers stand on the brink of history, facing reigning champions Argentina in a World Cup semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday.The occasion was too good for the Stick to Cricket show to ignore. The popular cricket podcast messaged a string of well-known figures from the game to ask for their scoreline predictions ahead of the meeting between Harry Kane’s England and Lionel Messi’s Argentina.The responses ranged from the confident to the comically confused, but they shared one overwhelming theme. Every single respondent backed England to reach only their second World Cup final and their first since lifting the trophy on home soil in 1966.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMore: India vs England 2nd ODI 2026 lineups as Men in Blue look to seal the seriesRavi Shastri delivered the most memorable answer of the lot, correctly picking a winner while spectacularly merging two of England’s biggest stars into a single player. “2-1 England. Kane Bellingham for England. Messi Argentina,” the former India head coach replied.Embed Twitter FeedMichael Vaughan kept his prediction simple and characteristically bullish about his country’s chances. Asked for the score in the big game, the 2005 Ashes-winning captain replied “3-2 to England,” backing a high-scoring victory in Atlanta.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPhil Tufnell could not resist a nod to England’s tortured penalty history against Argentina, having lost the 1998 shootout in Saint-Etienne. “2-2 pens, England wins,” the former spinner wrote, imagining a dramatic route to the final that few England fans would welcome.Mark Wood offered the tightest scoreline and a cheeky assist for his fellow pundit. “1-0. Tuffers, penalty,” the fast bowler replied, jokingly casting Tufnell as the man to convert a decisive spot kick for the Three Lions on the night.More: ‘Milk India vs Pakistan twice’: ICC’s decision to reformat ODI and T20 WCs faces fans’ backlashThe optimism is not entirely without foundation. According to Opta, England advance in 52.3 percent of the supercomputer’s simulations, with Kane and Jude Bellingham having scored six goals each, the first time two players from one nation have hit that mark in a single World Cup.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementArgentina, however, arrives as the tournament’s form side. Messi has scored eight goals in six matches, and La Albiceleste have won all six of their games while chasing t