The Argentina men’s national football team is set to take on England in the World Cup 2026 semifinal on Wednesday. The match will be played at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia and is set to kick off at 4 p.m. Argentina time.

It has been a bumpy road for Argentina into the semifinals. The Albiceleste beat Algeria 3-0, Austria 2-0, and Jordan 3-1 in a nearly flawless group stage. However, it had to fight hard across back-to-back 3-2 wins against Cape Verde — in extra time —  and a miracle comeback from two goals down against Egypt. 

In the quarterfinals, Argentina beat Switzerland 3-1. However, head coach Lionel Scaloni’s team was overpowered for long stretches of the match and only gained the upper hand after the Swiss were reduced to 10 men following a dive to simulate a foul earned forward Breel Embolo a second yellow card and an automatic send-off.

With little in the way of physical problems, Argentina is likely to line up with Emiliano Dibu Martínez in goal and a back four of Nahuel Molina, Cristian Cuti Romero, Lisandro Martínez, and Nicolás Tagliafico.

In midfield, the trio of Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister will likely be joined by Boca Juniors’ Leandro Paredes, with Julián Álvarez and star and captain Lionel Messi up top.

Argentine players spoke to the press ahead of the final training session in the build up to the game. 

Scaloni attempted to defuse tensions in his press conference after securing the semifinal spot last Saturday, saying the game was........

© Buenos Aires Herald