Argentina star backtracks on England comments on eve of World Cup semi | Football | Sport

Alexis Mac Allister has U-turned on comments he made two months ago about England‘s World Cup chances. Mac Allister will be part of the Argentina team hoping to end the Three Lions’ campaign in North America on Wednesday night. The World Cup holders, captained by the eight-goal Lionel Messi, take on England in Atlanta with a place in this Sunday’s final on the line. The two nations have not played each other since 2005 and their first meeting at a World Cup for 24 years is bound to reignite tensions.

Back in May, when being interviewed by Jamie Redknapp at the Liverpool training ground, Mac Allister notably did not mention England when discussing who he fancies to win the tournament. He said: “Spain, France are really strong. But I always feel like Argentina and Brazil have a chance. Even Brazil that is not in the best moment, I think with [Carlo] Ancelotti now, good players, so they have a chance. But for us, maybe…” Redknapp then pointed out that the midfielder, 27, had not mentioned England.

Mac Allister then turned to Dominik Szoboszlai, who was sat alongside the pair trying to stifle laughter, wearing a blank face. He then replied: “You think you have a chance?” But after Redknapp pointed out that he was asking Mac Allister, the Liverpool man’s reply was not shown.

Ahead of Wednesday’s titanic semi-final, Sky Sports’ Gary Cotterill asked Mac Allister after an Argentina training session: “You said before the World Cup you didn’t fancy England as one of the favourites, are you surprised they’ve got this far? Do you fancy them now?”

But Mac Allister backtracked, stressing that he does rate Thomas Tuchel’s team, who are now only two wins away from becoming the second England side in history to win the World Cup.

He replied: “No, not surprised. I understand what you’re saying because it was an interview that Jamie was doing at Liverpool. It was a bit of a joke. Because at the same time that I said that, they were not going to be in this situation. I said they have amazing players and a really good coach as well.

“So I’m not surprised, I’m not surprised. As I said they have very good players, they know what they are doing and they have a great idea. We really respect them and we will try our best to win.”

Mac Allister has been in the Premier League since joining Brighton in 2019. He left the Seagulls to move to Liverpool for £35million, rising to £55m with add-ons, in the summer of 2023. He has since won the league with the Reds and has managed 19 goals in 150 appearances at Anfield.

The midfielder, who is of Irish descent, has seven goals in 52 Argentina caps and opened the scoring in their 3-1 quarter-final win over 10-man Switzerland. Mac Allister headed in from a Lionel Messi corner 10 minutes into the match.

The South Americans have won all of their six World Cup matches so far, scoring three goals in five and twice in the other. The talismanic Messi has eight goals and two assists, which is six times more than any of his La Albiceleste team-mates.

The semi-final against England at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, known as the Atlanta Stadium for the World Cup for sponsorship reasons, will be the first time Argentina have faced their rivals since November 2005. Michael Owen scored a late brace for a 3-2 win at the Stade de Geneve in Switzerland.