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Bellingham has really stepped up in the knockout stages of the tournament, to the point where he now sits level with Harry Kane on six goals at the World Cup. 

Bellingham has managed 2+ shots on target in all three of England’s knockout stage matches, scoring twice against Norway last time out to secure England’s passage through to the semi finals.

He’s playing really high up the pitch, sometimes alongside Kane when England are without the ball, and also looks to make runs into the box when Kane drops a bit deeper - as we saw for his goal against Mexico.

Bellingham has taken 17 shots across his six starts at the World Cup overall (2.97 per 90), seeing 11 of these efforts find the target (1.92 per 90). 

Jude Bellingham was fouled four times against Norway last time out. He’s almost impossible to stop without being hauled to the ground when he hits full stride and I think he’ll cause Argentina’s four man midfield plenty of issues.

Bellingham has won 12 fouls across his six starts at the World Cup (2.10 per 90), which is an average he posts regularly for his club side Real Madrid (2.58 per 90).

He’ll be up against a really bitty Argentinian midfield, none of whom boast the physical profile to go toe to toe with Bellingham - which should lead to England’s talisman winning at least two fouls here. 

There have been many plans designed by opponents to try and stop Messi, but the most effective may actually be just hauling him down as often as possible.

Messi isn’t quite as involved as he used to be, but he’s still incredibly effective in tight areas and wins fouls with ease as he’s still one of the best dribblers in the world.

Messi has been fouled 2+ times in three of his last five matches, winning 4+ fouls in two of these games. This works out to an average of 2.38 fouls won per 90.

This is pretty self explanatory, Messi has had more shots than any other player at the World Cup (33 - 5.60 per 90), seeing 18 of these efforts find the target (3.06 per 90).

Messi’s numbers are so inflated as he’s clearly the protagonist in this Argentina side. He takes every free kick, corner and penalty - giving him a great chance of being influential again in this clash, which is actually his first ever game against England.

Messi has scored in five of his six matches at the World Cup, registering 2+ shots on target in two of Argentina’s three knockout matches. 

Neither of these sides has looked too solid defensively at the World Cup, particularly during the knockout stages.

Both Argentina and England have seen BTTS in all three of their knockout games so far. England have shipped goals to the likes of DR Congo, Mexico and Norway while Argentina have failed to keep out Egypt, Cape Verde and Switzerland.

There’s plenty of attacking talent on show too, Messi has registered 10 goal contributions across his five starts at the World Cup while Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have combined to score 12 goals. 

This selection has landed in four of England’s six matches so far, with the exceptions coming against Norway and Ghana. 

I expect England to be more suited to how this game will unfold, sides sitting in a low block have caused issues for England but we’ve seen them slice through teams when they step onto them - such as the games against Mexico and Croatia.

Argentina have seen this selection land in all six of their matches at the World Cup. The end to end nature of their knockout games so far gives this leg a really good chance of coming in when factoring in the attacking talent at both ends. 

Both of these sides have utilised corners and set pieces more widely as a route to goal at the World Cup.

England are averaging 5.84 corners per game at the World Cup, winning 4+ corners in 83% of their matches. They’ve seen 2+ corners in each half in four of their six games with only two halves of football seeing them fall short of this tally against Norway and Mexico. 

Argentina are averaging 5.17 corners per game at the World Cup, and scored from a corner against Switzerland last time out. They’ve seen 4+ corners in 67% of their games, managing 2+ corners in each half of their quarter final clash against Switzerland. 

Semi-finals can be tight and low-scoring affairs, but I think there is real potential for both sides to end up on the scoresheet given the vulnerabilities we’ve seen at the back from both nations up to this point.

Argentina have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their knockout games, conceding 2+ goals against the likes of Egypt and Cape Verde during this run. 

They leave quite a lot of space at the back and probably could have conceded more goals against Switzerland had the European side managed to keep all 11 players on the pitch.

England have been exposed at the back on a few occasions too, conceding in all three knockout matches against DR Congo, Mexico and Norway. There’s an open feel about England when they lose the ball in transition, and Argentina have the players to exploit that. 

Corners have been an asset for both sides at this World Cup, and England also looked a little vulnerable defending them against Norway last time out, which may be an avenue that Argentina look to exploit.

Argentina opened the scoring against Switzerland from a corner last time out, with Alexis Mac Allister getting on the end of Messi’s delivery. They’ve seen 8.17 corners per game at this World Cup, managing 5+ corners in normal time in all three of their knockout games.

England have seen 8+ corners in all six of their games at the World Cup, seeing an average of 10.67 corners per game across those matches. Their own corner count has dropped slightly across the last few games, but it’s still a real asset of this England side with the excellent delivery of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka from either side. 

Jude Bellingham has been sensational for England at this World Cup and continues to step up for his country when it matters most, with the latest example being his brace against Norway to earn England a spot in the semi-finals.

Bellingham has taken 17 shots across his six starts at the World Cup (2.97 per 90), seeing 11 of those efforts find the target (1.92 per 90). 

He’s scored six goals from those attempts, which is the joint-most in the England squad, alongside Harry Kane. 

This tally puts him firmly in the race for the Golden Boot alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi - with Bellingham being the only player in the running to have scored all six of his goals from open play. 

He’s clearly England’s most influential player at the moment, and I back him to be a threat inside the box again here.

I’m expecting an intense midfield battle here, and Enzo Fernandez should be at the heart of that.

Fernandez plays a bit deeper for his country compared to the role we’ve seen him fill in at Chelsea over the last few seasons, which is ideal for our angle here.

He’s committed six fouls across his five starts at the World Cup (1.12 per 90) and will now line up against Jude Bellingham and Elliot Anderson.

Both players should be able to draw fouls from Fernandez, but Bellingham stands out as a particularly strong threat, having been fouled four times against Norway last time out and 12 times in the tournament overall (2.10 per 90).

Fernandez usually enjoys this type of midfield battle, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a booking in this one as well. 

One of the most underrated parts of Harry Kane’s game is how good he is at holding the ball up, especially for a player who doesn’t have a massive physical presence at the top end of the pitch.

One of the key battle is going to be between Kane and Argentina’s centre back duo of Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez. 

Kane has won eight fouls across his six starts at the World Cup (1.28 per 90), with most of those fouls being won as a result of the forward dropping deep into more central areas and allowing runners to go beyond him.

I expect both Romero (1.40 fouls per 90) and Martinez (0.88 fouls per 90) to follow him into those pockets at times, but he’s also going to run into Argentina’s four-man box midfield when he drops this deep - also giving him a good chance of winning a foul. 

England have scored in five of their six matches at the World Cup, netting 2+ goals in two of their three knockout matches.

Bellingham has been England's standout player at this World Cup. He's taken 17 shots across his six starts (2.97 per 90) and is level with Harry Kane as England's top scorer.

Bellingham will also have quite a battle to contest in the middle of the park up against Argentina's four man box midfield. He's committed six fouls across his six starts at the World Cup (1.05 per 90).

You won't get these odds anywhere else, back it below 👇

Producing solid form of late, SUNRAY SHADOW (8.7) has won three of his six appearances this year, and given he showed real promise on his chase debut in May, another bold bid is expected back in this sphere. 

Mainly raced over hurdles, the seven-year-old has won twice over hurdles this year, but given his performance over fences at Worcester, he looks an even better chaser. Sitting towards the rear of the field before making his move, Sunray Shadow stayed on well to win comfortably by 2 ¾ lengths, and he should thrive over this slightly further trip. 

An impressive performance on his chase debut, and considering he is up against the reopposing Samuel  Spade, who finished fourth of sixth in that race, and around 30 lengths behind Sunray Shadow, it’s tough to see Sunray Shadow not winning this contest if he continues with the performances he has been producing of late. 

Landing his first win of the year at Redcar in May, CLASSIC ENCOUNTER (8.7) won with some in hand when beating the reopposing Desert Shadow, and although he couldn’t follow up at Redcar again when second last month, he still ran a solid race. 

Finishing second last time out when beaten on the nod, the five-year-old was unlucky not to land his second win of the year at Redcar and considering he is racing off the same mark of 88 in today’s contest,  he holds leading claims in a race where form is proving hard to come by.

Positive signs from his race last time out, given the third place (Double Parked) went on to win next time out; this only boosts Classic  Encounter’s form and he looks a solid bet at his price to go well again today. 

Producing his best on quicker ground, today’s good to firm is perfect for the five-year-old and with only three rivals to beat, one of which he already has this season, it’s hard to look past Classic Encounter in today’s affair.

I don’t trust either of these backlines so I can see quite a few goals in this contest, but I also think this is a tie that has the potential to go all the way to penalties.

Neither of these nations has managed to keep a clean sheet in the knockout stages so far, with Argentina conceding 2+ goals against both Cape Verde and Egypt, while England conceded two goals against Mexico and has also shipped goals against Norway and DR Congo.

Both sides have actually had pretty similar runs to the final so far in terms of not really playing that well in any of their matches and instead relying on moments from their star players.

Argentina have obviously leaned heavily on Messi while England have looked to the duo of Kane and Bellingham - who have scored 12 of the 13 goals that England have managed at this World Cup.

Bellingham is clearly full of confidence right now, having netted a brace against Norway last time out to earn England a spot in the semi-finals. I’d look at his individual price to score in this one too, it’s just under 4.0, which is far more generous than the likes of Messi and Kane (2.40).

Bellingham has scored six goals at the World Cup overall and is now playing alongside Harry Kane in forward areas for England. I can see him taking control of this game at times for England, just as he did against Norway last time out.

Messi has had more shots than any other player at the World Cup (33 - 5.60 per 90), seeing 18 of these efforts find the target (3.06 per 90).

Messi’s numbers are so inflated as he’s clearly the protagonist in this Argentina side. He takes every free kick, corner and penalty - giving him a great chance of being influential again in this clash, which is actually his first ever game against England.

Messi has scored in five of his six matches at the World Cup, registering 2+ shots on target in two of Argentina’s three knockout matches. 

Kane has taken 22 shots at the World Cup (3.52 per 90), seeing 12 of these attempts find the target (1.92 per 90).

Argentina look really open at the back right now and Kane can be an important player for England in trying to exploit that. 

England have had a lead in four of their six matches at the World Cup and face off against an Argentina side who have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their knockout matches.

Argentina went behind against Egypt in their Round of 16 tie, as well as conceding two goals against Cape Verde and failing to keep Switzerland out in their most recent assignment.

Shot on Target record at the World Cup:

Messi - ✅✅✅✅✅✅
Kane - ✅✅✅✅✅✅
Bellingham - ✅❌✅✅✅✅

Messi has had more shots than any other player at the World Cup (33 - 5.60 per 90), seeing 18 of these efforts find the target (3.06 per 90).

Messi’s numbers are so inflated as he’s clearly the protagonist in this Argentina side. He takes every free kick, corner and penalty - giving him a great chance of being influential again in this clash, which is actually his first ever game against England.

Messi has scored in five of his six matches at the World Cup, registering 2+ shots on target in two of Argentina’s three knockout matches. 

Kane has taken 22 shots at the World Cup (3.52 per 90), seeing 12 of these attempts find the target (1.92 per 90).

Argentina look really open at the back right now and Kane can be an important player for England in trying to exploit that. 

Bellingham has managed 2+ shots on target in all three of England’s knockout stage matches, scoring twice against Norway last time out to secure England’s passage through to the semi finals.

He’s playing really high up the pitch, sometimes alongside Kane when England are without the ball, and also looks to make runs into the box when Kane drops a bit deeper - as we saw for his goal against Mexico.

Bellingham has taken 17 shots across his six starts at the World Cup overall (2.97 per 90), seeing 11 of these efforts find the target (1.92 per 90). 

England have avoided defeat in each of their last eight matches, losing just two of their 20 games under Thomas Tuchel. 

They’ve repeatedly found a way to get a result and crucially have two players in Bellingham and Kane that can pop up with a big moment. 

It’s also worth noting that England have been building towards a deep run in a major tournament for some time, they reached the final of the EUROs two years ago and reached this stage in 2018, losing out to Croatia in the semi final.

Bellingham has managed 2+ shots on target in all three of England’s knockout stage matches, scoring twice against Norway last time out to secure England’s passage through to the semi finals.

He’s playing really high up the pitch, sometimes alongside Kane when England are without the ball, and also looks to make runs into the box when Kane drops a bit deeper - as we saw for his goal against Mexico.

Bellingham has taken 17 shots across his six starts at the World Cup overall (2.97 per 90), seeing 11 of these efforts find the target (1.92 per 90). 

Jude Bellingham was fouled four times against Norway last time out and has won 12 fouls across his six starts at the World Cup on the whole (2.10 per 90).

He’s pretty much impossible to stop when he gets into full stride and will have a variety of opponents to try and stop him here, with Argentina usually lining up with four players in a box shape in midfield - making it a very congested part of the pitch.

I can see Bellingham getting into scraps with Fernandez (1.12 fouls per 90) and Mac Allister (1.00 fouls per 90), with Leandro Paredes and Rodrigo De Paul also being players who may look to drag Bellingham to the ground.

One of the most underrated aspects of Harry Kane's game is his ability to hold the ball up, especially for a player who doesn't rely on an imposing physical presence up top.

For me, a key battle here is Kane against Argentina's centre back duo of Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez.

Kane has won eight fouls in six World Cup starts (1.28 per 90), with most of those coming when he drops deep into central areas to allow runners beyond him.

I expect both Romero (1.40 fouls per 90) and Martinez (0.88 per 90) to follow him into those pockets at times, but when he drops that deep, he'll also run into Argentina's four-man box midfield, giving him another strong route to winning a foul.

I’m expecting an intense midfield battle here, and Enzo Fernandez should be at the heart of that.

Fernandez plays a bit deeper for his country compared to the role we’ve seen him fill in at Chelsea over the last few seasons, which is ideal for our angle here.

He’s committed six fouls across his five starts at the World Cup (1.12 per 90) and will now line up against Jude Bellingham and Elliot Anderson.

Both players should be able to draw fouls from Fernandez, but Bellingham stands out as a particularly strong threat, having been fouled four times against Norway last time out and 12 times in the tournament overall (2.10 per 90).

Fernandez usually enjoys this type of midfield battle, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a booking in this one as well. 

Ezri Konsa did alright at right back against Norway last time out, but it is an area that opponents can exploit, with England being unable to nail down a starting right back throughout the tournament.

Konsa may move back to centre back here if Reece James is fit enough to start, but either role makes him likely to commit at least one foul. He hasn’t looked that comfortable in England’s defensive system, despite often playing in a high line for Aston Villa domestically.

I think he struggles a little with the quality at this level, and this will only become more apparent at this stage of the tournament, as Konsa will have to deal with Lionel Messi (2.38 fouls won per 90) and Julian Alvarez (0.44 fouls won per 90). 

Konsa has committed seven fouls across his six starts at the World Cup, working out to an average of 1.17 fouls committed per 90.