England vs Argentina: Second Semi Final Preview | Morning Cupdate, Presented by The Home Depot

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1:15Hello, everybody. Welcome back to Morning Cup Day. Coming to you from Atlanta, where later today, Argentina take on England for a place in the final. or the winner will play Spain in New Jersey on Sunday. It is high stakes. It is high reward. Let's get straight into it. This is your ultimate guide to the second semifinal of the World Cup.

1:40Welcome to Morning Cup Update built by the Home Depot. We're back in Atlanta. Very enthusiastic, guys. I like it. The Home Depot is your winning assist to host the ultimate watch party with fast free delivery to get your backyard match day ready, subject to availability. And we've got our first confirmed World Cup finalist. Oh, yeah. Spain have booked their spot in Sunday's final after a 2-0 win over France yesterday. We're going to talk about that later in the show. But first, we have got to talk about today's semi-final. It is an all-time iconic World Cup rivalry, and it's time to write a new chapter this afternoon.

2:18England take on Argentina here in Atlanta, 3 p.m. Eastern. It's not been an overly smooth journey for either side to get to this point. England recovered from a goal down against DR Congo, were pushed almost to breaking point against Mexico in Mexico City. And then they also recovered themselves from a goal down against Norway in the sweltering Miami heat. Jude Bellingham scored two goals and the scenes in Smithfield Hall in New York, where we were watching, were quite something.

2:56We're never, ever going to be able to shut them off, are we? England fans haven't had to be too creative with that chant either, have they? It was given to you, handed to you on a plate. Anyway, Jude Bellingham is having the tournament of his life. Six goals already, the highest scoring midfielder at the tournament by quite some distance as well. Funny to think that some people questioned whether or not he should even be included in the England team a few months ago. Anyway, his goals aren't the only thing keeping him in the public eye this week. His response to this question from a journalist after the game has also been widely debated.

3:28Thomas has just been quite critical of the performance after the game. Does that show the standards that he expects, the standards you guys expect of each other, and maybe that there's more to come from the team? Maybe, but maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those kind of conditions against Erling Haaland, Odegaard, Nusash, Soloth. That's not an easy team to play against. Thomas Tuchel certainly wasn't happy with the team's performance. He praised their mentality, but also called them sloppy and not fast enough. And that was what the reporter was referring to in the clip that you just heard.

3:58However, Captain Harry Kane yesterday stressed that the team is completely together and blamed the difference of opinion on the heat of the moment and probably the actual heat in the stadium. Meanwhile, Champions Argentina were pushed all the way by Cape Verde. They went 2-0 down against Egypt and were seriously on the ropes against Switzerland before a red card changed the game their way. And Julian Alvarez scored a stunning goal in extra time. Here was the reaction of the legendary Argentina commentator Pablo Giralt.

4:40The tears in his eyes are really something to behold. In fairness, it was a stunning shot from Alvarez, worthy of winning any game of football. Were Argentina lucky, though, to get through to this match? Some people certainly think so. Switzerland were actually the team on top. That was until the 69th minute when Bril Mbolo was sent off for mistaken identity. Argentina's Paredes was initially booked for fouling Mbolo, but then VAR noticed that Mbolo had clearly simulated the foul, i.e., in normal language, he dived. and therefore Mbolo was given a second yellow and sent packing. Rory Smith on the nightclub felt like it was ultimately the right decision but that the process to get there was pretty questionable.

5:20The referee originally had booked Paredes for a foul, which was a strange decision anyway, which they then VAR'd as a case of mistaken identity. But it can't be a case... What they mean by mistaken identity is the referee's got this the wrong way round. That's not mistaken identity. So again, it's just that thing of, are they kind of making the rules up to suit themselves? Against Norway, Bakayo Saka and Rhys James had to start on the bench and Declan Rice was forced to come off at half-time after suffering with an illness. However, boss Thomas Tuchel has said they are all fit to start. Meanwhile, the Argentinian press are suggesting that they could potentially change formation for this one.

5:57Let's dive into it.

6:02Today's drill down brought to you by Makita is all about whether Argentina might set up differently for this game today against England According to Argentinian paper Ole boss Lionel Scaloni was tinkering with a 5-3-2 in training on Monday This is the formation that they used in the 2022 World Cup when they beat the Netherlands in the quarterfinals Until now, the world champions have been playing with a back four a formation that allows players like Rodrigo de Paul to effectively be Lionel Messi's bodyguard, doing his dirty work for him. As a result, Messi has been allowed to walk for 47 % of the time, the highest percentage of any outfield player.

6:39However, Scaloni is considering dropping de Paul for centre-back Otamendi, which would help contain the threat of Kane and Bellingham, but the knock-on effect would probably mean that Messi is more isolated. But in all honesty, this is a game that is probably less about tactics and more about handling the emotion. We'll get into that before the end of the show. On to yesterday's action and Spain have booked themselves a place in the World Cup final for the first time since 2010. Yeah, got to hear that again, haven't we? The pre-tournament favourites finally showed exactly why they were the pre-tournament favourites.

7:14Everybody was France this, France that, but Spain pulled out a stunning performance to win 2-0. Lamin-Yemal won a crucial penalty in the first half after a clumsy challenge from France left-back Lucas Dina. Mikel Oyarzabal coolly stuck the penalty away. Then in the second half, Dina was once again at fault as he let Spain right-back Pedro Porro wander past him. But in fairness, it was a wonderful finish from the Spurs man. Here was the reaction in Madrid.

7:46As expected, incredible celebrations in Madrid. The Spain players in Dallas celebrated with that famous Texan delicacy. Pizza. I think they went to the wrong place. Oh, and obviously, Laminya Mal's brother Kane caught the eye of the photographers again. He's got to, hasn't he? What a guy. On to France then, and despite everyone tipping them to win the tournament after their dazzling attacking performances, they completely underwhelmed. Just three shots on target and none of them seriously troubled Unai Simon in the Spain net. Here's Rory Smith on why Spain's passing football brought out the worst of this French team.

8:22I thought it might draw France out and force them to find another level. But in fact, what it did was kind of panic them a little bit because they found themselves encountered with this resistance that wasn't going to wilt. And I don't think they knew what to do. For France, it's the end of an era as Didier Deschamps is stepping down. He was unable to lead his team to another World Cup final. After winning it in 2018, they haven't been able to back it up since. It's also the third summer in a row where France have lost a major knockout match to Spain. What? Didier Deschamps' long history with France will end with a third-place playoff on Saturday.

8:57Not what he would have wanted. Zidane Zidane is expected to take charge of this France side, a man very well known for his knockout football prowess. Let's dive into a few other World Cup stories then. On Tuesday, Flo Balogun spoke publicly for the first time since the suspension following his red card was overturned. He told CBS what his reaction was once he heard about the news and the president's involvement. My initial reaction was, you know, I was happy to be back in the team. But when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy. And I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves.

9:38FIFA made more headlines on Tuesday as it was revealed that the halftime break at the World Cup final is expected to be about 30 minutes long to accommodate FIFA's star-studded halftime show, meaning it will breach the maximum time of 15 minutes permitted under the laws of the game. The halftime show featuring Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Coldplay and BTS and also the Muppets. What? Will only last 11 minutes, but broadcasters were concerned that they wouldn't have time to do first-half analysis if the break only lasted the usual quarter of an hour. The halftime interval at last year's Club World Cup was 25 minutes long to fit in a half-time show, but Sunday's final is expected to be even longer, so I guess it gives us all time to have a hydration break.

10:25Tonight, after the game here in Atlanta, make sure that you lock into the nightclub as Rod and Rory recap all of the madness between England and Argentina. Tune in live on the Men in Blazers YouTube to break down everything from the second semi-final match. Now, everybody, it is prediction time. Yesterday, I took on James Horncastle. He went for a Spain win against France. Well, I did not do that, unfortunately, even though it was my hunch, but he stole it off of me. Always go for your hunch, Betty. Always go for your hunch. Meaning it is now 11-9 to the night cup. So it is mightily, mightily close.

11:02Representing the night cup today, once again, it was James Horncastle. So I think for Argentina, England, This is going to be very delicately poised because, you know, as much as England haven't played well in long spells of this tournament, Argentina have been taken to extra time by Cape Verde, taken extra time by Switzerland. And they needed to come back from 2-0 down with 10 minutes to go against Egypt. So I think this goes the distance. I think this will go to a penalty shootout. I think it will be a little bit like 98. I'm hoping for kind of 2-2 in normal time and then everyone gets petrified.

11:43Maybe there's a sending off. I can see sort of Cootie Romero sort of lashing out at Harry Kane. And then we get an agonising penalty shootout, which England prevail in. But it is getting very serious now and my producers have subbed me out. So instead, taking over, today is my dog McGinn. Think Paul the Octopus, but a bit fluffier. Here's McGinn, narrated by BBC's legendary commentator, John Murray. Over to you, John. So there he is, McGinn, at the far end of the kitchen. Here he comes. It's going to be... Oh, it's Argentina. McGinn, what are you doing?

12:28On today's Finishing Touch, brought to you by Bear Paint, we want to give you the history of Argentina against England. It's an angry, chaotic, hostile, deep-rooted rivalry that extends over 60 years of controversy. One that's born out of sport and politics. And they're meeting for the first time since 2005. Yeah, this isn't just any old semi-final. It all started in 1962 when England beat Argentina 3-1 in Chile. Argentinian players called the English Los Piratas, which means the Pirates, due to Britain's imperial past. Fast forward to 1966, host England met Argentina at Wembley in the quarterfinal in a bad-tempered game.

13:09Argentina captain Antonio Retin was sent off for arguing with the referee and astonishingly refused to leave the field. It took the police to finally get him off. England manager Sir Ralph Ramsey described the Argentina players as animals after the game, which obviously didn't go down too well. Argentina fans called the game the theft of the century. After that came the politics. Argentina today invaded and seized the Falkland Islands, which have been under British rule for nearly 150 years. Britain promptly broke diplomatic relations with Argentina, sent several of Her Majesty's warships steaming south and appealed to the United Nations.

13:46In 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, known by the Argentinians as Las Malvinas, which have been under British control since the 1830s. Britain unexpectedly sent troops to defend the islands, and after a bloody conflict that killed over 900 people on both sides, Argentina were forced to surrender. But they've never given up their claim to what they believe is rightfully theirs. Las Malvinas are still part of many songs that Argentina football fans sing at games to this very day. But on Monday, Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni was quick to downplay any connection between the war and today's game, stating that it simply is just a football match.

14:24Fans might disagree on that one. Back to the timeline then. Four years later, after the conflict, the two countries met at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. That day, it was very much about the war. And eventual champions Argentina won 2-1 with Diego Maradona scoring both goals. His second goal was one of the greatest goals of all time, but his first was the most infamous. Using his hand, he punched the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. You'll know this as the hand of God. It's now 40 years later. Has Shilton forgotten and forgiven? I've still not forgiven Diego Maradona, so Diego. 12 years later and on to France, 98.

15:0318-year-old Michael Owen scored a goal nearly as good as Maradona's to put England in front, but the game was remembered for David Beckham's petulant kick-out at Diego Simeone, which saw him get sent off. Argentina went on to win the match on penalties and the English newspapers were absolutely fuming. One famous headline read, 10 heroic lions, one stupid boy. Here were the reactions of some England fans the day after. He ruined it for the whole country, just by his own selfishness. He used to be sharp, really. He lost us the game. Maybe a little bit extreme, in hindsight? Anyway, Beckham made amends four years later when he scored the winning goal for England when they met Argentina in the group stage of the 2002 tournament.

15:45That win made it 3-2 to England in World Cup meetings, 64 years after their first encounter, today's match is maybe the biggest yet, with a place in the final at stake. It's also Lionel Messi's first ever match against England. Will he end up being the hero, or will England end the Argentinian legend's dreams of lifting a second consecutive World Cup? Whatever happens, we know this one will go down in history. That is it for Morning Cup Date today, built by The Home Depot. The Home Depot is your winning assist to host the ultimate watch party with fast free delivery to get your backyard match day ready, subject to availability.

16:24The second to last stop on the Match Day Tour Live is today in Atlanta at Founders Green. It all kicks off at 1pm Eastern Time before England take on Argentina in the semis. Roger Rory will be joined by James Horncastle, the Atlanta legend himself, Ludacris, and coach beard of Ted Lasso, Brendan Hunt. If you're in Atlanta, join the pre-match tailgate or catch the live stream right here on the Men in Blazers YouTube. From there, we head to New York City for the grand finale to end this incredible summer. Rog will be at Fanatics Fest Saturday and Sunday with filmmaking legend Spike Lee, Cape Verde's beloved Vizinha, yeah, he's literally going to be there, how incredible, hip-hop icon Method Man, Giants great Tiki Barber and World Cup champion Becky Sauerbrunn.

17:07What a line-up that is. Tickets for that are in the links below. Until then, enjoy this iconic semi-final between England and Argentina. Amen.