There are very few things Lionel Messi has not done on a football pitch.
But the semi-final meeting between Argentina and England at 20:00 BST on Wednesday in Atlanta, live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, will provide the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner with an altogether new experience.
Despite making more than 200 appearances and scoring 125 goals for Argentina, Messi has never faced the Three Lions.
It looked for a spell that the 39-year-old may be denied his first meeting with England when Switzerland held the momentum in Saturday’s quarter-final – but Argentina eventually ran out 3-1 winners in extra time.
Messi failed to score for the first time this tournament in that victory, though he still leads the Golden Boot race alongside France’s Kylian Mbappe having scored eight times, and is the World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer.
“England can outrun Argentina but they just have that little genius Messi. They all play for him. Everyone should be excited,” said BBC pundit Micah Richards.
“Marking him is impossible because he doesn’t run back. He goes into little spaces where he shouldn’t really be. He switches on at the right times, [and] he’s got the best technique. His spatial awareness is fantastic. He’s got a great shot.
“Most importantly, he’s got what Jude’s [Bellingham] got and that’s what makes Jude so great, he’s got personality and aura.
“Messi has the most aura out of any footballer. Messi’s aura is just next level, so it’s going to be interesting.”
How much should England fear the Inter Miami forward?
“I think Thomas Tuchel and the England players will be relishing the prospect of playing this Argentina team in its current guise, its current form, because this isn’t a great Argentina team, but they do have a habit of finding a way,” said Chris Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Live.
On BBC Sport, former England striker Wayne Rooney said that while Messi makes little contribution defensively, he can define games with quality in the key moments.
“He can be a weakness defensively for Argentina,” Rooney said.
“He doesn’t run back, but he has big moments a bit like with Jude Bellingham. He has big moments and moments of quality. The thing with Messi is his decision-making – he comes to life in moments of the game and he makes the right decision.
“Marking Lionel Messi is about concentration and communication. Communicating with your team-mates about picking up positions you might not usually pick up.”
The match against England is the semi-final Argentina wanted, South American football expert Tim Vickery told 5 Live.
“Lionel Messi couldn’t possibly end an international career, over 200 matches, without playing the team that Argentina fans see as their biggest rival,” Vickery said.
“During the second half, the fans were bouncing up and down singing ‘he who doesn’t jump is an Englishman’. You’ll be hearing a lot, lot more of that on Wednesday.”
England and Argentina share one of international football’s fiercest rivalries.
From Diego Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal at the 1986 World Cup quarter-final – Maradona’s second appearance against England after a friendly in 1980 – to David Beckham’s red card in Saint-Etienne 12 years later, games between the two nations have rarely lacked drama.
However, this will be their first meeting in almost 21 years.
Since Messi made his Argentina debut at 18, the sides have met only once and that match came less than three months after his maiden outing.
Messi had earned his senior call-up in August 2005 after impressing in Argentina’s triumph at the World Youth Championship earlier that year. He was not involved though when England took on Argentina in a friendly in Geneva as he was serving a suspension after a red card only 30 seconds into his international debut.
Introduced as a second-half substitute against Hungary in Budapest, he reacted to a foul from Vilmos Vanczak by swinging his arm towards the defender and was shown a straight red card by referee Markus Merk.
In a pulsating contest albeit without Messi, the South Americans took the lead twice before Michael Owen struck two dramatic late goals to earn Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England a 3-2 victory.
Messi is Argentina’s all-time record appearance-maker and goalscorer and his legend has only grown after captaining his country to World Cup glory in 2022.
His numbers show he loves putting the ball in the back of the net against all teams, but there are some he seems to relish facing more than others.
Bolivia are Messi’s favourite opponents in terms of goals, scoring 11 in just 12 matches.
He has struck seven times against Venezuela and Ecuador from 13 and 11 matches respectively.
The 39-year-old has also netted six and five goals against South American heavyweights Uruguay and Brazil respectively while European oppositions have fared little better.
He has three goals apiece against Croatia, Switzerland and France. Against Les Bleus, he struck those three goals from as many matches, including a memorable double in the 2022 final.
Among all the nations he has faced more than once, only one has managed to prevent him from scoring – that being Qatar, who he has played twice.
