England and Argentina, who are among the two favourites for the 2026 World Cup, go head-to-head in a mouth-watering second semi-final match-up on Wednesday with the winner facing Spain in this year’s final.
Former Hearts of Oak boss Mas-Ud Didi Dramani gives a tactical preview of the game
ARGENTINA
OFFENSIVE (Strategy/Organisation: 1-3-5-2/1-3-3-1-3)
ENGLAND
(Strategy/Organisation: 1-4-2-3-1/1-3-3-1-3)
- They build up with the GK (short or long)
- Rice drops to join the 2 CBs (Stones/Konsa and Gueyi)
- Fullbacks rotation centrally to join Anderson (midfield overload)
- Saka and Gordon (wingers) stay wide and high with Jude between the wingers – Kane can serve as a decoy while Jude fills in with the late and decisive runs in the channels and in the box in key moments.
- Very strong in the wide overload during breakthroughs, Gordon’s and Saka’s incisive delivery and isolation in the 1v1 (this could be very decisive) and the movement and runs of the fullback in the half spaces
- TRANSITION – Strong in the turnovers offensively (2 goals against Mexico) – this is a strong attacking attribute of the team.
- Set pieces (offensive) – another strong point against a strong defensive set-piece team. Good test for both teams.
DEFENSIVE (Strategy/Organisation: 1-4-5-1)
- They try to stay consistent with their competitive and compact shape.
- Wingers (Gordon/Saka) have tirelessly battled to funnel inside and tracking down to their goal when needed.
- The entire team could be seen in a Low-Medium block shape with the coordinated distances it requires
TRANSITION (Turnover) – the team switches quickly into the defensive transition when not in possession
- Set pieces – defensive. They struggled against Norway to contain the set pieces, though they are a strong set-piece team. They come against an equally strong offensive Argentinian side with the precision of delivery by Messi (a good test for both teams)
Substitutions
- It could be tactical
- Physical
- Medical
- Game/player management
KEY PLAYERS
- Jude
- Kane
- Rice
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
