How to stop Messi? England thought they solved the riddle. How foolish of them

How do you stop Messi? That was the question most English pundits asked each other ahead of the fabled semifinal showdown in the FIFA World Cup 2026 at Atlanta.

You don't man-mark him. Many have tried and failed. "Just go with him," said former England manager Sam Allardyce. "That can frustrate Messi," he said. What he meant was to get tighter to the superstar, and not give him the joy of expressing himself freely.

Allardyce guessed Elliot Anderson was the right man for the job. England head coach Thomas Tuchel's approach aligned with Allardyce's. Anderson was assigned the task of stopping Messi.

About 20 minutes from the start, Messi turned deep in his half. He took an unusually heavy touch, pushing the ball a foot or two further than he had wanted, and Anderson was on to him in a flash. He threw a heavy tackle to dispossess Messi.

That was the plan England had for the great man: Deny him the privilege of holding on to the ball. Anderson, the Premier League's costliest midfielder, made quite an early impression.

But Messi, like an elephant, did not forget the insult and taught Anderson a lesson the next time they came together, after 35 minutes. He got on one of his trademark mazy runs, stepping away from a brilliant Djed Spence and Harry Kane, before poking it around Anderson, and was pushing toward the goal. Anderson, realising he couldn't let the No 10 go further, brought him down with a rugby-style tackle and took a yellow card for the team.

That setback did not deter him from picking Messi's pocket again in the first half. So, the plan was good. Through Anderson, England frustrated Messi by denying him shots on target even as a few other Argentinians came closer; Alexis Mac Allister hit the post, and Julian Alvarez forced a smart save from Jordan Pickford.

Anderson did not chase Messi, but rather remained in a central zone and targeted anyone who came within his radar. Messi was pushed out wide by the young Manchester City midfielder. So England stopped Messi?

England had pushed Messi further wide than any other side in the World Cup. Even the Swiss, who denied him a goal, could not prevent Messi from cutting inside, onto his left foot, and shoot on target.

Messi found himself in his natural habitat on the right wing. First, he picked out Enzo Fernandez with a perfectly timed push, and the Chelsea midfielder fired home. For the second goal, Messi got closer to the byline and crossed into the box, where substitute Lautaro Martinez had taken a beautiful position between two defenders, and he scored with a header.

Messi claimed a pair of assists as Argentina bounced back from a goal down to win 2-1 and set up the final with Spain. England stopped Messi from scoring, but they could not stop him from performing.