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.
“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.
Already 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.”
England 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.
Yet 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 and range of passing, but arguably no one can rival Messi's individual control of the ball, his dribbling ability or vision.
Bellingham's maturity always stood out. He made his debut for second-division Birmingham at 16 and despite many of England's top teams wanting to sign him, he rejected the likes of Manchester United and moved to Borussia Dortmund in Germany instead.
Birmingham knew it had lost a special talent and said it was retiring his No. 22 jersey despite him playing less than 50 games for the club.
After starring for Dortmund, Bellingham joined Real Madrid, wore the great Zinedine Zidane's No. 5 and helped the Spanish giant to the Champions League and Spanish title in his first season in 2024. That same year he was part of England's team that reached the final of the European Championship, scoring an overhead kick in stoppage time to save his country from elimination earlier in the tournament.
With a record like that, it should come as little surprise that Bellingham, along with captain Harry Kane, who also has six goals, has been such an inspiration at this World Cup.
“Everyone talks about Messi because he's one of the GOATs of the game, but you can't look past the ability and talent we have in the squad,” Pickford said.
England vs. Argentina is a fierce rivalry that goes beyond the soccer field, with tensions also relating to the 1982 conflict over the Falklands Islands.
There have been numerous clashes at the World Cup.
Argentina captain Antonio Rattin, whose death was announced on Saturday, was sent off in a bad-tempered quarterfinal match against winner England in 1966.
Maradona scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal in 1986 - and England also felt aggrieved when David Beckham was sent off for kicking out against Diego Simeone in 1998 and losing in a penalty shootout.
Most recently England beat Argentina in the group phase in 2002, with Beckham scoring from the penalty spot.
Rather than being weighed down by the disappointments of previous clashes, Kane said it was that win that stood out in his mind.
“We all knew what Beckham went through previously against Argentina and that kind of redemption story of scoring that penalty, his celebration, he’s pulling the shirt and his face.
“I think that’s one of my favourite England memories," Kane told ITV. “That was always one of my favourite memories, Beckham being a big idol of mine, so that one stands out for sure.”
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
