Pickford backs Bellingham and Kane to hurt Argentina despite Messi GOAT nod

Jordan Pickford has urged Argentina not to fixate on their own star power ahead of England’s World Cup semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday, insisting that Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and the squad’s collective resilience make the Three Lions a serious danger.

Pickford was candid in his respect for Lionel Messi, describing the 39-year-old as “one of the goats of the game” — a nod that carries weight given Messi is the joint leading scorer at this tournament with eight goals, level with France captain Kylian Mbappé. But the Everton goalkeeper was equally clear that England’s threat runs far deeper than any single opponent.

“You can’t look past the ability and the talent we’ve got in the squad going forward, defensively, togetherness,” Pickford said. “We’ve got it all there and that’s what we need to put on show on Wednesday.”

He was careful not to reduce Argentina to a one-man team, acknowledging that the reigning world champions are a formidable collective. “They’re a good side and they’re reigning champions,” he added, “but we’ve got so much ability in our squad going forward and we’re also hard to break down. We’ve got that resilience, we’ve got that togetherness and we’ve got that mentality. That’s what makes a good team.”

England manager Thomas Tuchel was not entirely satisfied with the performance against Norway in Miami, and Pickford echoed that self-critical tone, insisting the side have not yet reached their ceiling. “We’re not the finished article,” he said. “We always want to improve. We’re in the semi-final, but you don’t want to just think the job’s done against Norway. We’ve got to improve for the next game and the next game after that.”

Pickford also spoke about the personal significance of the occasion. Now England’s all-time record World Cup appearance holder, the 32-year-old is acutely aware that semi-final berths are rare — England’s previous appearance at this stage came in Russia in 2018. “It’s a great honour. We’re reaching targets that we want to reach,” he said. “It feels special, but also it’s a job.”

England’s route to the last four included what Tuchel described as the “grind” of matches against Mexico and Congo, and Pickford was keen to frame the Argentina tie as simply the next step in that process rather than a destination in itself. “We know the end goal, but we always take it step by step,” he said.