​The England national team will face Argentina on Wednesday in the FIFA World Cup semifinal as the nation seeks to reach its first final since 1966.England has navigated a series of challenging knockout World Cup games – initially against DR Congo, then against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, and most recently against Norway in the Miami heat – to secure Tuesday’s fixture.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFormer U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who made over 450 appearances in the Premier League, created quite a stir when he labeled Mexico an “average side.” El Tri proved far more competitive than anticipated – admittedly against England’s 10 men in the second half – in a 3-2 loss.-Credit:Andreas Rentz, Bongarts/Getty ImagesSpeaking exclusively with Mirror U.S. Sports on behalf of Sportsline sportsbook promos, Friedel assessed Argentina, the reigning World Cup champions, who, like England, have also had to battle their way into the semifinals.Argentina needed extra time to overcome Cape Verde (3-2) in the Round of 32 and Switzerland (2-1) in the quarterfinals, with results bookending a thrilling comeback against Egypt, where Lionel Messi and his teammates erased a 2-0 deficit in the 79th minute.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFriedel delivered a candid assessment when evaluating the 2026 Argentine squad, declaring coach Lionel Scaloni’s La Albiceleste outfit “not the same as 2022” while noting that England “can qualify for the final.””I saw Argentina versus Switzerland, and they looked leggy in midfield. They do defend hard, but concede chances. They have struggled against Cape Verde, Egypt, and Switzerland, who do not have the same quality that England does,” Friedel shared.”This Argentina side is not the same as 2022, and we know the history between England and Argentina, the game will be fiery, and England has the quality to win. In the attacking third, Messi still has the quality, but he isn’t on the ball as much as he was in 2022.”To listen to the latest episode of ‘All Out Soccer’ – CLICK HEREAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMessi has netted eight goals – headlined by a group stage hat-trick against Algeria – in the 2026 tournament, one more than he scored in the 2022 World Cup.”As the game develops, Argentina seems to lose the 50/50 battles, and they do concede chances,” Friedel continued. “And I do believe that if [Breel] Embolo hadn’t been sent off, Switzerland would have had the upper hand,”.Swiss striker Embolo was shown a second yellow card for diving against Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes in the 72nd minute, just five minutes after Switzerland leveled at 1-1 and appeared to be shifting the game’s momentum.”So I think England can go through here for sure,” Friedel concluded. “Argentina has the quality, you have Messi who is still such a brilliant player, they are a step up from Norway, Mexico, and Congo, but from what I’ve seen from Argentina, England can qualify.”