Carra: England must 'exploit' Messi in World Cup semi-final

Jamie Carragher believes England can exploit Lionel Messi in their World Cup semi-final against Argentina.

The 38-year-old has arguably been the player of the tournament this summer, scoring eight goals and adding a further two assists as he looks to lead Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup final appearance.

Thomas Tuchel's side will be looking to find a way to stop Messi in his tracks as they attempt to end a 60-year wait for a place in Sunday's final. However, Carragher believes that the Three Lions should be looking at ways to exploit Messi's defensive vulnerabilities as much as they look to nullify his own threat.

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"It's nothing new with Messi. He's been around for 20 years and no one has found the answer," Carragher said.

"There has to be a plan. I don't think it will be a man-marking job, but they need a plan. The players will be expecting that. It's not admitting defeat in any way. You're coming up against arguably the greatest player of all time. He's shown that in this tournament too.

"Also, they should be thinking about how they can exploit Lionel Messi as well. He walks about when the opposition have got the ball, so that doesn't mean England's left-back should stand next to him for the whole of the game.

"They can exploit the fact that Argentina only defend with nine outfield players."

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Carragher is also hopeful that the semi-final in Atlanta will follow a similar pattern to the opening game against Croatia where Tuchel's men can take advantage of a team looking to be on the front foot.

"I don't think there's too much between the teams. I'm hoping that this game has got elements of the Croatia game in it, where you're playing against a side who fancy themselves as a good team," he added.

"I certainly don't think they'll be getting everybody behind the ball. They'll try to tackle us, and will that leave space for ourselves to attack? Their full-backs like to go high and wide, but they don't really play with wingers, so maybe that's something we can exploit.

"I'm hoping that it's a different type of game than what we've seen from the majority of England games throughout this competition. I still don't think England have been anywhere near the best in performance-wise."

'Nothing wrong in Tuchel's Norway comments'

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Carragher also jumped to the defence of Tuchel following his comments post-match against Norway. The German was critical of England's quality on the ball and stated his belief that they nearly threw the quarter-final away.

In the immediate aftermath, it was put to Jude Bellingham what he made of those comments, to which he implied that Tuchel had no idea what it was like to play in the extreme conditions in Miami. The temperature was upwards of 33C during the clash, with the humidity making the conditions feel closer to 40C.

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However, Carragher played down suggestions of any rift in the England camp as a result of Tuchel's assessment.

"I didn't think there was anything wrong at all with Tuchel's comments," Carragher said. "He's probably a little bit emotional after the game. England didn't play particularly well and could have easily lost that game against Norway.

"I totally understand Tuchel. We know what he was like at Chelsea. That's one of his plus points. He tells you straight. You've seen him against Spence in this tournament.

"In a World Cup, a manager's got to be decisive. He's got to make big decisions, he's got to tell people straight. You can't wait. Things need to happen right away. I thought the interview from the manager was brilliant.

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"Jude, again, he's emotional after the game. He's just scored a couple of goals, and then he's realised how hard it was on the pitch, and the conditions as well. I could understand that, but Thomas Tuchel will be absolutely fine with that."

Carra picks Saka to start over Madueke

With Declan Rice fit and Reece James returning as a substitute against Norway, it seems Tuchel's selection problems have whittled down to who should start on the right flank.

Noni Madueke has been in from the off on four occasions this summer compared to Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka's three.

Saka has been struggling with his fitness across the course of the summer, but Carragher believes that Tuchel must start him against Argentina and avoid thinking about saving him for a potential final.

"I think Madueke's had a lot of chances in this tournament," he said. "It hasn't quite happened for him. Saka certainly hasn't been at his best, but as we know, he's not 100 per cent fit.

"I'm just hoping with each minute or longer he's on the pitch and other appearances, we start to see a little bit of what we know of Bukayo Saka.

"These are the games you take a chance in. If he's right, or you think you can get something from him, you've got to pick him. There's no worrying about what comes after that. I know it's a World Cup final after that, but this game is too important."