Mikel Obi predicts Argentina victory over England, says Messi will decide semi-final

Former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has backed Argentina to defeat England in Wednesday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final, insisting Lionel Messi’s brilliance will prove decisive.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast alongside Joe Cole, Micah Richards, Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker, Mikel said England’s midfield has left spaces throughout the tournament that Argentina’s attack, led by Messi and Julián Álvarez, can exploit.

The former Chelsea midfielder also argued that the reigning world champions possess the experience and quality needed to edge the Three Lions and book their place in the final.

“I’m a Messi fan, I want Argentina to win,” Mikel said.

“How do you stop Messi? We’ve all tried, and we’ve all failed. One thing I have to say is that he’s just a genius. I mean, he’s a fantastic player when we used to play against Barcelona.

“It’s just incredible. Obviously, a week before the game [Chelsea vs Barcelona], we used to talk about how we’d take him on, how we’d stop him. Mourinho always tried to come up with something.”

Mikel said it would be almost impossible for England to contain the Inter Miami captain in one-on-one situations.

“You can’t defend one-on-one against Messi, it’s impossible.

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“Man to man? You can, but you don’t want to just walk around a player like that. With the way they move the ball around to find one person, if it finds him, everything else changes.

“The way he dribbles with the ball, it’s like there’s a magnet at his feet. And the vision, the things he sees, he’s one of the best passers in the world. We talk about his goals, but his passes are incredible.”

The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winner believes England’s midfield will be the decisive battleground.

“Argentina will win. England haven’t been great, they’ve had just one good half. Lionel Messi and Argentina will find space in that midfield between Declan Rice and Anderson.

“Also, you don’t want to have Declan Rice man-marking Messi, because you’ll take so much away from him. That’ll be the space Messi will love, and if he gets the ball there, you’re dead.

“For me, that’s where the game will be decided. The bodyguards Messi has know how to fight for him. They’ve been there, done that, so I think with that in mind, Argentina have the advantage,” he concluded.

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