Tuchel considered man-marking Messi

England head coach Thomas Tuchel considered man-marking Lionel Messi for the FIFA World Cup semi-final against Argentina.

Messi has scored 8 of Argentina's 17 World Cup goals, tied with Kylian Mbappe for the competition high.

Tuchel described Messi's ability to see spaces earlier than others and execute solutions at the highest level.

Messi did not score but assisted Alexis Mac Allister in Argentina's quarter-final win against Switzerland.

Argentina and England are meeting for the sixth time in World Cup history; England has lost only two of their 14 overall matches against Argentina.