Alan Shearer makes big England vs Argentina prediction: ‘VAR might impact us’

3 min readUpdated: Jul 15, 2026 12:32 PM IST

England players celebrate after the World Cup round of 32 match vs Congo. (AP)

Former England captain Alan Shearer has predicted a player to be sent off in the England vs Argentina FIFA World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, but admitted that he was worried about the level of refereeing and the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the match.

Shearer captained the England team, which was knocked out in the Round of 16 clash against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, which famously saw David Beckham sent off after a retaliation with Diego Simeone.

“I would not be surprised at all if we saw another red card this time too, but I am slightly concerned where the refereeing will be at, and how VAR might impact us,” Shearer wrote in his BBC column.

“It was an unbelievable night with everything that happened, and, while I know I should be over it by now, I still don’t think the best team won. What happened to us then should be a warning to England now, because these are the kind of games where tempers can boil over and affect the result,” he added about the 1998 World Cup game.

The former striker believed that England had a chance to beat Argentina and go to the final, admitting that the reigning champions had not played well during the course of the tournament.

“I don’t think Argentina have played great football to get this far, but they have scored some great goals. They are an experienced and streetwise team, and they are also the defending champions.”

“They are not as good as they were when they won it four years ago, but what they have been great at is always finding some way to get a result when they have needed it. Having Messi up top obviously helps. Everything Argentina do goes through him, and they always look for where he is whenever they win the ball,” Shearer wrote.

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He also praised Jude Bellingham for his exploits at this World Cup, adding that between him and Lionel Messi, whoever goes through on Wednesday will be the top contender for the Player of the tournament.

“If I am going to mention Messi, I have to speak about our superstars too. Harry Kane has been brilliant, while Jude Bellingham is having the tournament of his life. Like Messi, Bellingham has won four man-of-the-match awards – or Superior Player of the Match as FIFA likes to call them – so far, which is incredible.”

“They are both in the conversation for the player of the tournament, and they are both match-winners. You have to think that whoever goes through to the final, one of them will play a huge part. I am backing England to make it – I think we will have enough to beat Argentina, because we will cause them more problems than they will cause us – but there is no way I am expecting it to be straightforward,” Shearer said.