England walking a tightrope against Argentina and World Cup conspiracy theories

England must find a way to deal with Messi, Argentina, and everything else (Picture: Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images)

In his exclusive column for

Metro

, former England

World Cup

star

David James

looks ahead to tonight’s showdown with Argentina and the relationship between Thomas Tuchel and Jude Bellingham.

We know Thomas Tuchel is a very demanding coach,

we saw it again in the aftermath of the win over Norway

with his comments made after the match. But it seems to be benefiting the team. He said it after the Mexico game too, how he was disappointed that he hadn’t seen what he’d seen in training on the pitch and all the levels this team can reach.

But the man speaks his mind. He’s consistent. I don’t think it’s about perfection. His expectation is so high because he knows what the team is capable of. The team are capable of playing better. The conditions on Saturday weren’t necessarily conducive to that but he knows there is another level.

Looking at the performances, you can see why.

Declan Rice

in that first half, it was obvious that he wasn’t well enough to continue the game. You expect Declan Rice to do certain things. Even if they’re not going to be at the highest level, you still expect a very decent level of consistency. Unfortunately, Declan wasn’t doing that.

It seemed like

Elliot Anderson

found himself in an awkward position because of that. It wasn’t until Declan went off that Anderson grew into his controlling best.

Is Tuchel getting the best out of England? No, because as he said, we haven’t had the best of England yet. We have two more games and we hope the second of those will be the final. In one of those two games, we are going to see the best of England.

Rice battled through illness last week (Picture: REUTERS)

Ideally, it will be the final on Sunday. He has set the stall out, Thomas Tuchel. I think he’s been very clear in his messaging, very honest in his messaging.

I just think the team is responding. You didn’t see any disappointment on Saturday. Once again, we went a goal behind against Norway but the heads didn’t go down. If anything, the change of gear got them going up again.

I found the comments

from Tuchel and Bellingham post-match very interesting

. I think it was a case of Jude not fully understanding Gabriel Clarke’s interpretation of Tuchel. Also Jude is high on adrenaline just after winning a game of football and may not have processed that information.

They are both alpha males. I think there’s a respect and it’s the kind of challenge that both of them like, because they’re getting results. If there was fighting or if Thomas Tuchel wasn’t happy with someone, we would all know about it.

Bellingham disagreed with Tuchel’s post-match comments (Picture: Elsa/Getty Images)

I think there’s a sporting side where you see his frustration on the sideline, but I don’t think anything is personal. He knows, through the success he’s had with dealing with highly talented alpha males in the football environment, how to get the best out of them. What we’re seeing at the moment, I think, is the best version of

Jude Bellingham

for many different reasons.

I would imagine in the changing room, at the first opportunity, there was a conversation. It’s kind of like “ah, that’s what you meant. Okay, fine”.

Tuchel isn’t frightened to say how he feels publicly, because of that respect and understanding that the players have got with him privately. And as a result we are getting the best version of Bellingham.

We have all seen some of the things that have gone in the

and you might argue

Argentina have got the rub of the green on more than one occasion

. It’s added to the tension. But as far as England are concerned, you have to ignore the noise. I think you have to play your game, because the success of England has come doing the right thing.

Argentina out to defend their crown (Picture: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

I think if you start thinking about all the noise, it’s like a tightrope. If you start thinking that the powers that be are trying to get you beaten, then it will make you play the game differently. If you go into it genuinely and try and do what you always do, and if at the end of the day it’s not good enough because your opposition are better than you, then you put your hands up and say they were better. If it’s because of something else, then at least you know you did the right thing.

As an observer, it frustrates me. I don’t like what I’ve seen, and if it wasn’t for the fact that England were doing the right thing, then I’d find it very difficult to enjoy this World Cup.

But this is where we are and this is a fixture good enough to be a final.

Argentina beat Switzerland in extra-time (Picture: REUTERS)

For whatever conspiracies people have, I don’t think at any point the Argentine team have been or are in on anything. I don’t think they’re on the pitch going, “okay, we’ve already won this, we don’t have to play”, because it would be obvious. You saw the celebrations of Messi in the round of 16 after beating Egypt and when

Julian Alvarez

scored the other night. They’ve had to work very hard.

This is a side who won the World Cup in the most dramatic fashion. England are facing a side who have as much determination, passion and drive, and never give up spirit as they do. Which is perfect.

It is a beautiful semi-final. I keep going back to Tuchel and knowing he will have the plan, he will have the words, and I trust that our players are good enough. They’re proving it, better than what they have been before. We’ve got

Harry Kane

in the form of his life, we’ve got Jude Bellingham in the form of his life.

We’ve seen glimpses of the likes of Anthony Gordon doing things which have been fantastic. And I just feel that this is the game. It has to be enough. I think this is going to be one of the grittiest, energy-filled games ever. I’m actually dreading the fact now, that there’s going to be so much energy spent in this game, that then we’re fearful for Sunday in the final, whether we’ve got enough energy left. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

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