Messi Faces England for First Time in World Cup Quarter-Final

Atlanta. Before Lionel Messi's sixth World Cup began, many understood that he had already done and seen everything in football. 

After achieving completeness in football by winning the title in Qatar four years ago, many feared that at the age of 39, he could not add anything more to his legacy, but only spoil it. However, Messi has been proving such traditional beliefs wrong throughout his career. 

By becoming the all-time leading scorer and assister in the World Cup on the way to taking Argentina to the semi-finals, he has further established himself as the greatest player of all time.

Interestingly, he is now doing something he has never done before. Despite playing 205 matches for his country, Messi had never played against England. But this situation is changing on Wednesday in Atlanta.

After winning the quarter-final against Switzerland, Messi told reporters, 'Playing against England will surely be special. Because they are a strong team and a match against such a team is always special.'

He said that he was facing them for the first time personally. 'I have played against everyone except England,' Messi said, 'So this match will be good for me.'

For Messi's World Cup journey, the semi-final clash against England is not just 'good', it is also a completeness. It is an unexpected opportunity to add his name to a match against football's most talked-about (or infamous) rival.

Messi has followed Diego Maradona in many aspects, and surpassed him in some. Even before lifting the World Cup trophy in the style of Maradona in Qatar 2022, he had led Argentina to the Copa America title at Brazil's home ground, the Maracana. However, a victory over England in the World Cup will be even more special for him.

Meanwhile, Argentina's coach Lionel Scaloni has tried to take Wednesday's semi-final match lightly. 'It's just a football match, okay?' Scaloni said. Saying that he could only say this much, he added, 'We are playing against a very strong opponent and an excellent coach. It's a football match, that's all.'

While technically Scaloni's statement is correct, it is limited only in the sense that there will be one ball and 22 players on the field. Because the clash between Argentina and England is certainly not just a normal football match. Midfielder Jose Manuel Lopez said after the 3-1 victory over Switzerland, 'From an off-field perspective, this is a match with a very long history.' He said that a lot of pain and history is attached to this clash.

The World Cup rivalry between England and Argentina began in 1962. However, its tension escalated from the second meeting in 1966. After that tense match at Wembley, England's coach Alf Ramsey called the Argentine players 'animals'. England won that match with a controversial goal by Geoff Hurst.

New generation fans will surely remember David Beckham's red card in France in 1998 and his comeback later in Japan and South Korea. However, when the names of England and Argentina come up in football, the image of the 1986 World Cup quarter-final in Mexico comes to many minds. This is the most talked-about and controversial match in World Cup history.

In this context, Messi said, 'Everything I have seen and remembered about that match is from videos and pictures.' He said that Argentinians watch and feel that match repeatedly. The reason for this was only one - Maradona.

Maradona wrote about his continuous popularity or fame in his autobiography 'Touched by God'. 'Even today, 10-year-old children walk around wearing jerseys with my name on them,' he wrote, 'And this madness can only be explained by one goal, or perhaps two goals.' There was no doubt about this.

Those two goals scored by Maradona on June 22, 1986, made him the most talked-about player in football history. In the 51st minute of the match, Maradona used his hand to deceive the English goalkeeper Peter Shilton and put the ball into the net.

Former Liverpool winger John Barnes said, 'We all saw that.' He said that the players on the bench, the coach, and the manager all saw it as clearly as daylight. 'We all knew he had touched the ball with his hand,' Barnes said, 'But I don't blame Maradona.'

He said that he only blames the referees and officials who did not see the incident. Barnes admitted that he had no complaints against Maradona and that he was the best player in the world.

Of course, Barnes recounted that he was watching the game and supporting his team, but he also watched Maradona's warm-up. He said that perhaps seeing the world's best player on the field was exciting. Barnes concluded, 'And you know, his second goal wasn't bad either, was it?' Of course, it wasn't bad.