England, Mexico take centre stage in Azteca blockbuster

Los Angeles, United States: England face Mexico in a World Cup blockbuster at the Estadio Azteca on Sunday [Monday, July 6, 3am, Qatar Time], while Erling Haaland and Norway bid to ambush Brazil as the battle for quarter-final places heats up. orlando-books.blog

A day after France and Morocco sealed their places in the last eight of the tournament, two more spots are up for grabs in round-of-16 duels in Mexico City and New Jersey.

England's encounter with Mexico has been one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament, with the Three Lions returning to the Azteca 40 years after their iconic 'Hand of God' game against Argentina at the 1986 World Cup.

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Thomas Tuchel's side have stumbled into the last 16, needing a late double from captain Harry Kane to secure a 2-1 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo to advance to Sunday's game.

England entered the World Cup with dreams of ending the country's 60-year wait for a major title.

But the English have failed to live up to their billing so far, struggling through the group phase before squeezing past DR Congo.

England will also need to overcome the challenge of altitude, with the Azteca sitting some 2,240 metres (7,350 feet) above sea level.

"The altitude will be, of course, a big disadvantage because we cannot physically adapt to it in four days. It's just impossible," England boss Tuchel said before the team's departure for Mexico City.

After visiting the Azteca on Saturday, Tuchel said at his pre-match press conference: "It just catches you straight away once you get in here and see the excitement and see the emotions.

"I felt straight away that this will be a proper World Cup match for tomorrow.

"We knew it before. We are in an iconic place, an iconic stadium," Tuchel added.

Tuchel is also grappling with the issue of how to shore up England's porous defence, which has looked vulnerable to pace, especially down the problematic right flank.

Mexico, by contrast, are flying. El Tri have won all four games on home soil, without conceding a goal.

A 2-0 victory over Ecuador secured their first knockout win at the World Cup for 40 years and more history beckons if England can be eliminated in front of an expectant home crowd.

'11 vs 11'

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre on Saturday questioned whether the altitude would be a factor, insisting the game would come down to a contest of "11 v 11".

The 67-year-old told reporters his team would have to play a "near-perfect match" to beat England, who are fourth in the FIFA rankings to Mexico's tenth place.

"They have major players who play both inside and outside the country," he said. "They're pretty powerful, physically speaking, and they're great players."

Sunday's game is due to kick off at 6:00pm local time (0000 GMT) [Monday, July 6, 3am, Qatar Time].

FIFA on Friday reportedly considered bringing the start time forward to avoid thunderstorms due at kick-off before confirming the game would stay at the scheduled time.

Sunday's forecasts still predicted thunderstorms in Mexico City around the time of the game, although with highs of 21 Celsius, far below the near-record World Cup temperature of 38 degrees when France beat Paraguay in Philadelphia on Saturday.

The winner on Sunday will face a quarter-final in Miami against Norway or Brazil, who meet at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where severe storms were also forecast and the U.S. National weather service had issued a regional flood warning.

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti cut a relaxed figure on Saturday as he discussed how his team planned to tackle Norway's in-form striker Manchester City forward Haaland, who has scored five goals in three appearances at the tournament so far.

Haaland will line-up against a familiar opponent, Gabriel Magalhaes, who plays for City's Premier League rivals Arsenal.

Brazil's other central defender, Marquinhos, has also faced Haaland while on duty for Paris Saint-Germain.

"Everyone knows how he works," Ancelotti said of Haaland. "I have nothing to explain to my defenders how to play against him. They've obviously played against him several times."

Norway coach Stale Solbakken meanwhile has urged his team to focus on their opponents rather than the size of the occasion as they take on the five-time world champions.

"We need to make sure that we don't play according to the occasion, but that we simply play the match," Solbakken said Saturday.

"Obviously, Brazil is the favourite, but I also said that I don't think they are big favourites, which they maybe had been some years ago, or two, three, four years ago."

Los Angeles, United States: Super sub Mikel Merino broke Belgian hearts and sent Spain through to a World Cup semi-final against France with a late goal in a gripping 2-1 win on Friday.

The stunning finish at SoFi Stadium sets up a tantalizing showdown between European champions Spain and the tournament favorites France and the red-hot Kylian Mbappe in Dallas on Tuesday.

But it was heartbreak for Belgium's substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens, sent on late, who spilled a shot into the path of Merino.

The dramatic finale came after Fabian Ruiz had opened the scoring for Spain, before Charles De Ketelaere grabbed one back for Belgium against the run of play before halftime.

Welcoming Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku back to the starting XI, Belgium were rocked by a hamstring injury during the warm-ups to captain Youri Tielemans that hit them hard.

Having already lost Amadou Onana to a ruptured ACL, the Red Devils would have to play a near second-choice midfield against the Spanish possession masters.

Ruiz, brought in for Pedri, wasted no time combining with Rodri to dominate the ball and Barcelona's teen sensation Lamine Yamal curled an early shot just wide of the far post.

But opposing winger Doku was bright for Belgium, cutting in from the left to feed De Ketelaere, the striker fresh from his brace against the United States on Monday.

Still, it was Spain who struck first. On the half-hour mark, Pedro Porro played a sharp one-two with Lamine Yamal before expertly cutting it back from near the byline to Dani Olmo.

Olmo's shot was parried by Thibaut Courtois, but fell to Ruiz, who fired it home.

Suddenly it was all Spain. They pinged passes around the Belgian half as though this World Cup quarter-final was a training exercise, laid on for an A-list crowd featuring Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz and Noel Gallagher.

But Belgium, having fought back astonishingly late from 2-0 down in the round-of-32 to dispatch Senegal, did not panic.

They grabbed one back in the 41st minute. De Bruyne slid a through ball wide to Timothy Castagne. His cross found De Ketelaere, who perfectly timed his run and outmuscled Barcelona youngster Pau Cubarsi to head home.

It was the first goal Spain had conceded this World Cup.

Improbably, Belgium almost grabbed another before half-time. Breaking from a Spain corner, De Ketelaere's pass to a totally clear Doku was barely intercepted by Olmo.

Yamal grew into the game after the break, nearly finding Mikel Oyarzabal with an incisive cross that was well blocked by a charging Courtois.

Belgian coach Rudi Garcia brought on veteran striker Romelu Lukaku, who had scored from the bench in three straight games.

The game opened up. A Belgian cross hit Rodri's arm but the impact was deemed accidental. Oyarzabal had a shot saved from a close, tight angle.

A tearful Courtois was forced off by injury after 70 minutes. He was replaced by Lammens, the 24-year-old Manchester United 'keeper making his World Cup debut in daunting circumstances.

It turned out to be a nightmare.

In the 88th minute, Cubarsi shot low from range, and Lammens should have held onto the ball. Instead substitute Mikel Merino was first to the rebound, smashing it home.

It was the Arsenal midfielder's second straight late winner from the bench, after he scored the crucial goal against Portugal in stoppage time on Monday.

Late on Alexis Saelemaekers rounded Unai, but was unable to find Lukaku in front of an open goal.

As the whistle blow, Courtois came out to embrace a distraught Lammens, while other members of Belgium's ageing "Golden Generation" stood immobile and disbelieving.

For Spain there were embraces and fist pumps, before attention quickly turns to their blockbuster clash with France.

Doha, Qatar: England will aim to end Lionel Messi’s bid for back-to-back FIFA World Cup titles and then charge their way into the final when they face defending champions Argentina in a heavyweight semi-final clash at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium today.

The last-four showdown pits one of international football’s oldest rivalries, with a place in the World Cup final at stake.

Thomas Tuchel’s England are targeting a place in their first World Cup final for the first time since lifting the trophy in 1966, while Argentina are chasing a third appearance in the final in the last four editions. The Messi-led side is also hoping to become the first team after Brazil (1962) to successfully defend the world title.

For Messi, the man who carries the tag of owning most number of goals scored in World Cups (21), today’s semi-final carries extra significance as he prepares to face England for the first time in his career.

“I have played against everyone except England and it is special because they are a major nation, a powerhouse, and it is always nice to play against a side like that, especially in a World Cup semi-final,” Messi said ahead of the encounter.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has already inspired Argentina’s title defence journey, scoring eight goals, but Lionel Scaloni’s men faced few near misses on their way to the semi-finals.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi (second right) with teammates during a training session.

After comfortably topping their group, Argentina edged Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time before rallying late to beat Egypt by the same scoreline. They then overcame Switzerland 3-1 after extra time in the quarter-finals, extending their unbeaten run at the World Cup finals to 12 matches since their shock opening defeat to Saudi Arabia at Qatar 2022.

“This squad does not get tired of making history. They keep wanting more,” Messi said after the victory over Switzerland.

“It is not easy to have been world champions, to have won all that we have won, and to once again keep competing at this level and be back in the semi-finals.”

The 39-year-old maestro, who is probably playing his last FIFA World Cup, will be the biggest threat to England today, but English skipper Harry Kane believes his team must focus on Argentina as a whole, instead of individuals.

“We know how good a player he is, we know what he’s done in the game, how consistent he’s been for so long,” Kane, who was top scorer at the 2018 World Cup, said.

“But the game is against Argentina, not against Lionel Messi. So yeah, we have a lot of preparation to do. We’re coming up against a great unit, a great team with fantastic players,” Kane said.

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford echoed Kane’s views, saying: “We all know how good Messi is but we also know how good Argentina are. We can’t solely rely on stopping Messi.”

“We’ve got to focus on their other strengths and the weaknesses we can take advantage of.”

England, powered by a brilliant double by Jude Bellingham, claimed a comeback win over Norway in an extra-time thriller to book the Argentina meeting, following another 3-2 win over Mexico in the pre-quarters despite playing with 10 men.

England opened their campaign with a 4-2 victory over Croatia, drew with Ghana and defeated Panama 2-0 before surviving another scare against DR Congo to secure a 2-1 win in the Round of 32.

Overall, England hold the upper hand in the head-to-head record, with six wins to Argentina’s two, while five matches have ended in draws. England also lead the World Cup head to head record with three wins so far, while Argentina’s victories came in the gripping 1986 quarter-final and the shootout in 1998.

England’s most recent meeting saw them clinch a thrilling 3-2 friendly win in 2005, and fast forward 21 years, a whole new generation of The Three Lions are up against one of the pre-tournament favourites this time.