Thomas Tuchel dodges Lionel Messi question
England manager Thomas Tuchel has dodged a question about whether he thinks Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time.
The German tactician is preparing to lead the Three Lions against Argentina in tonight’s World Cup semi-final clash, and stopping Messi will probably be the tactic he most needs to get right.
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Messi has never played against England before, so it will be interesting to see what he can do, but he goes into this game in superb form as he’s joint-top of the Golden Boot charts at the World Cup so far.
See below as Tuchel discusses Messi’s quality, but falls short of declaring him the best player ever, as he admits he’s not a fan of lists like that…
‘We’re NOT here to build him a throne’ ?
Thomas Tuchel on the challenge Lionel Messi and Argentina pose for England ?????????#ITVFootball | @England | @gabrielclarke05 pic.twitter.com/L5c9xfnERb
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 15, 2026
Tuchel also sent a clear message about not worshipping Messi too much, which seems like the right kind of mentality for England if they are to avoid being overawed by the 39-year-old.
How can England stop Lionel Messi?
Tuchel also spoke in another video clip about how he’s tempted to try an old-school man-marking system to keep Messi quiet.
See below as the England manager admitted to that kind of plan crossing his mind, though he obviously wouldn’t reveal one way or another if he’d definitely choose that particular option, as it might not be something that works on Messi anyway…
How Thomas Tuchel and England are planning on stopping Lionel Messi… ?? pic.twitter.com/iaF3mSpYUe
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 15, 2026
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Ultimately, it might just be best not to focus too much on Messi, as throughout his career he’s got the better of pretty much every top defence you can think of.
| Player | Goals | Assists |
| Kylian Mbappe | 8 | 3 |
| Lionel Messi | 8 | 1 |
| Erling Haaland | 7 | 0 |
| Harry Kane | 6 | 1 |
| Jude Bellingham | 6 | 1 |
It might work best for England if they just focus on their own game tonight, and do their best to keep the ball, create chances, and limit what Messi can do by simply being the better team.
That’s easier said than done, of course, but if they retreat and make everything about stopping Messi, chances are he’ll find at least one moment of immense quality to undo all that work anyway.
