I’d definitely rather be playing Argentina than the Swiss and I reckon Thomas Tuchel and the England players will be absolutely delighted too – they will think they can get at Argentina.
In wide areas, Argentina looked vulnerable. Nahuel Molina, who started at right-back, was given a torrid time by Dan Ndoye, who ended up scoring.
Molina got hooked in the end but, whether it is him or Gonzalo Montiel who starts against England, they will have their hands full with Anthony Gordon.
Similarly, whether it is Noni Madueke or Bukayo Saka on the right, I think they will have the better of Argentina left-back Nicolas Tagliafico in one-on-one duels too.
And, in the centre of their defence, Lisandro Martinez has made mistake after mistake in this tournament. He has got another rick in him, I’m sure of that.
The way Argentina set-up, they overload the middle of the pitch and play really narrow, then try to get Messi on the ball and hope he can produce something.
I know it is easy to say ‘you stop Messi, you stop Argentina’ but watching them, that was literally the case. Apart from Messi they are hoping Julian Alvarez bends one in from 25 yards rather than playing through teams.
Alvarez is usually in midfield but he played slightly differently against Switzerland, and was the one trying to stretch their backline. If he wasn’t doing it, no-one else was.
Messi certainly isn’t going to be making those runs and he was really quiet for long periods against the Swiss, but once they were down to 10 men he was probing and looking more of a threat.
If Declan Rice is fit, then it will be his job to deal with him. The Swiss realised you could not give Messi an inch and Granit Xhaka was brilliant at that.
Messi will still be dangerous but he is 39 now and, as long as Tuchel has a plan to stop him drifting into space, I think England will have enough quality everywhere else to win.
Look, it will be a brilliant tie because of all the history between the two countries at World Cups, with the Diego Maradona handball and the David Beckham red card.
The previous meetings have been pretty feisty, and I am expecting more of the same here.
I would not be surprised to see some antics from the Argentina players because they love that side of it. They will be happy if it turns into that kind of game, where things get a bit wild and England players might lose their heads.
But, if they can keep their cool, I am expecting England to win comfortably – and my other prediction is for Argentina to finish the game with nine men.
Messi has never played against England, and maybe he will make his mark, but England have got their own superstar now in Jude Bellingham.
His first goal against Norway was sensational, with his power, poise and the finish. He is absolutely flying at the moment and if it comes down to one player deciding this game, it is likely to be him.
Sutton’s prediction: 3-1
AI’s prediction: 1-2
