Wednesday, July 15, has been marked as one of the historic days in football history, with two “iconic” teams, England and Argentina, set to fight for a place in the 2026 World Cup final.

Speaking ahead of the game at a pre-match press conference in Atlanta on Tuesday, July 14, England manager Thomas Tuchel admitted that although he does not feel any burden, “they feel the tension and will be nervous”.

“I don’t feel a burden. We feel the tension and will be nervous, but that is normal. What I like is that I feel the players are really competitive, hungry and excited to play this match. The two shirts are just iconic. There are historic matches, iconic moments, and everyone recognises the shirts and players straight away,” he said.

Tuchel also mentioned that he is expecting what he described as an "intense and emotional match" given the track record of both teams. However, amid that, he is optimistic his side has the potential to defeat the World Cup champions, Argentina.

“It’s a big rivalry. It’s two big football nations, like everyone who follows football, everyone who follows the World Cup knows about. We expect tomorrow [to be] an intense match; we expect an emotional match. I expect a match with a lot of momentum swings, and anything else would surprise me.

“We don’t use it [history v Argentina] as fuel. We know why we’re here. We know what we want. We were never shy of expecting that from us, of saying it, of dreaming it. We are in the semi-finals. We arrive very hungry in the semi-finals. We want to have the next win,” he said.

Henderson, Quansah to miss Argentina clash

Tuchel indicated that Jordan Henderson and Jarell Quansah are the only players who will miss his side's decisive clash.

He said Jordan is still recovering from surgery on a wrist injury he suffered after celebrating his side’s win against co-host Mexico on Saturday, June 27, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, USA, while defender Quansah is suspended following his red card in the same game.

“Everyone is fit to start, except Jarell [Quansah] and Jordan [Henderson]. Declan [Rice] is ready to start and [has had] as good a recovery as possible,” he said.

It leaves head coach Thomas Tuchel with options as he finalises his starting XI.

The England boss is yet to field the same starting back four in consecutive games at the World Cup but has considered keeping the same defence that began the quarter-final against Norway.

Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Marc Guehi and Nico O'Reilly all started, and it is understood that Tuchel was impressed with how the quartet operated in the 2-1 win.

Declan Rice's preparation for the game against Norway was severely disrupted by illness, but BBC Sport reported on Monday that there was optimism his condition had improved enough for him to take his place in the team on Wednesday.

Rice trained fully on Tuesday and is expected to start in Atlanta.

Details about Henderson and Quansah missing out

Per reports, Henderson landed awkwardly after tripping over an advertising board close to the pitch.

He stayed down clutching his wrist after the fall and was taken off the pitch on a stretcher before later being transported to hospital.

Speaking in a post-match press conference, Thomas Tuchel told the BBC:

“Jordan [Henderson] just fell over and injured his wrist. It looks really bad. It’s quite a serious injury, and it doesn’t fit the evening that Jordan is now not with us. The doctor told me he is in hospital.”

Quansah, on the other hand, was sent off in the Round of 16 match against Mexico on Sunday, July 5, at Estadio Azteca after a VAR review in the 54th minute. He received a straight red card for a dangerous tackle on Jesús Gallardo for serious foul play.