Man-marking for Messi? Tuchel: "I've thought about it"
Thomas Tuchel talks about his match plan for the World Cup semi-final and Messi's role in it.
England and Argentina will contest the second World Cup final ticket among themselves in the semi-finals (at 9 PM in the LIVE ticker >>>).
After eliminating Norway and Erling Haaland in the quarter-finals, a victory against the reigning world champion is now to follow.
At the pre-match press conference, England coach Thomas Tuchel spoke about how he intends to stop Lionel Messi.
"I've thought about whether we should use good, old-fashioned man-marking. I'm not yet sure if we'll go through with the idea. But it crossed my mind," said the English national coach.
"He sees things earlier than anyone else"
Tuchel particularly highlights his understanding of the game and his ability to recognise situations faster than others:
"Everyone knows the spaces Messi operates in. He sees things earlier than anyone else on the pitch. And then he creates solutions at the highest level. I believe we've found a few patterns in their game. But if you neutralise those, he finds new ones again. That's his superpower."
