​ATLANTA (AP) — It’s England vs. Argentina at the World Cup. It’s also Lionel Messi vs. Jude Bellingham.The battle of the two No. 10s could be pivotal to deciding Wednesday’s semifinal in Atlanta.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“We know how good Messi is,” England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said of the Argentina great, whose enduring brilliance has been on show again even at the age of 39.Messi and Bellingham have been inspirational in their teams’ respective runs to the final four. And Wednesday’s match may well be determined by which one has the biggest say on the day.Messi is playing England for the first time in his storied career.“He’s scored so many goals and contributed to so many goals as well throughout his career, it’s great to finally go up against him,” Pickford said.Messi is already considered by many to the be greatest soccer player of all time and he seems to be on a one-man mission to settle the debate about where he stands in the history of the sport.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlready the all-time top scorer in the World Cup with 21 goals, he could surpass Argentina icon Diego Maradona by leading his country to back-to-back world titles.His eight goals in the tournament so far have been pivotal to Argentina’s campaign and his moments of magic have dragged his team through big scares against Cape Verde and Egypt.With Maradona as captain, Argentina won the World Cup in 1986 and was runner-up four years later when it lost to West Germany in the final.“Trying to draw inspiration from what Diego did is difficult. Only Leo can do that,” said Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister. “Diego is a national icon for us, and hopefully, we can achieve something similar to what that team did.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEngland has a talisman of its own in the form of Bellingham, who is at the opposite end of his career to Messi.At the age of 23, Bellingham is already playing in his second World Cup and his fourth major tournament for England. He has six goals, including two each in the last two rounds against Mexico and Norway.Not bad for a player who was dropped by coach Thomas Tuchel in the lead-up to the World Cup, prompting debate about whether he’d even be in England’s starting XI.For a long time Bellingham has not only been considered one of English soccer’s brightest talents, but one of a select group, along with Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Vinicius Jr., tipped to be the next global stars after Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYet his relationship with Tuchel cast doubt over his role in the England team, with Morgan Rodgers threatening to take his place.There is no doubt anymore about a player who Tuchel described as “world class” after his double against Norway in the quarterfinals.Bellingham is different type of No. 10 to Messi, relying on his athleticism, power and speed when running beyond defenders. He is also technically gifted with his touch