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England head coach Thomas Tuchel hailed Lionel Messi as the driving force behind Argentina ahead of their FIFA World Cup semifinal, saying the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner remains the leader and key player for the defending champions, according to Sky Sports.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the last-four clash, Tuchel said Messi’s influence on Argentina goes beyond his individual brilliance.
“It is just incredible how he (Messi) carries that team. There are no words. Who am I to talk about that? No words left for this kind of achievement,” Tuchel said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
“He is just the leader and the key player in any team he plays. You can see the cohesion, and they are experienced in tournament football. They have a good coach and have been together for a long time. They love to play in the middle of the pitch with the short passes, always looking for gaps. When Messi has the ball, the movement starts,” he added.
Tuchel said England would need to be at their best to contain Argentina’s captain but insisted his side would remain true to its own style of play.
“The technical execution of the supply of Messi is on the absolute highest level. There is a lot to take care of. We are here to play our way and impose our style. We are here to play the semi-final our way. We know how big the ask is but we are ready for it,” he said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
Reflecting on England’s quarterfinal victory over Norway, Tuchel admitted his side had lacked composure in possession and called for a sharper display against the defending champions.
“We had too many technical errors in our last match that held us back from finding a rhythm. We were rushed in our decision-making, not patient enough or disciplined enough and it cost us our rhythm,” he said.
The England manager, however, praised his team’s defensive improvement during the tournament and expressed confidence that the occasion would bring the best out of his players.
“We improved in the tournament in defending and defending as a team. This is something we need at the highest level tomorrow. The acceleration, combined with technical execution, has to be at a higher level. A setup like tomorrow will bring the best out of us and the best out of our players,” Tuchel said.
He also dismissed suggestions that England would draw motivation from past meetings with Argentina, saying the focus was firmly on the present challenge.
“We don’t use it as fuel. We know we are here, we were never shy of expecting that from us and dreaming it. We are in the semi-finals and we arrive very hungry. We want to have the next win,” Tuchel said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
“We respect our opponent, but we don’t dip into historic events and make it bigger than it is. It is a big football match but we are very excited and ready to go,” he added.
England face defending champions Argentina in the second FIFA World Cup semifinal, with the winners set to meet Spain in the final after La Roja defeated France 2-0 in the first semifinal.-ANI