England
England have found a way to win under Thomas Tuchel even when they have not been at their best, coming through a dramatic 3-2 victory over Mexico and a 2-1 extra time win against Norway to reach the last four. Jude Bellingham has been the driving force with braces in their last two games, and alongside Harry Kane he gives England a genuine match winning spine. Defensively there are questions, with Reece James having battled a hamstring problem and Jarrell Quansah an ankle issue earlier in the tournament, and England have conceded in both knockout games. In my opinion England carry enough firepower to trouble anyone, but they will need to defend far better than they have to stop Argentina.
Predicted Lineup: Pickford; James, Konsa, Guehi, O'Reilly; Rice, Anderson; Gordon, Bellingham, Madueke; Kane.
Argentina
Argentina have looked every bit the reigning champions, with Lionel Messi orchestrating and Julian Alvarez providing the cutting edge, most recently in a 3-1 quarter-final win over Switzerland that needed extra time. Scaloni's 4-3-3 is built on a powerful midfield of Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul, which controls games and protects the back line. Messi came through an early hamstring scare before the tournament and has been in scintillating form, including a hat-trick against Algeria in the group stage. My read on this is that Argentina have the balance and big game know how that England still have to prove they possess.
Predicted Lineup: E. Martinez; Molina, Martinez, Romero, Tagliafico; De Paul, Fernandez, Paredes, Mac Allister; Messi, Alvarez.
