England manager Thomas Tuchel says he is not weighed down by history as his side prepares to face Argentina in Wednesday's World Cup semi-final, with a place in England's first final in 60 years at stake.
Speaking to reporters in Atlanta on Tuesday, the German said his players were embracing the occasion rather than feeling overwhelmed by it.
“I don’t feel a burden. We feel the tension and will be nervous, but that is normal,” Tuchel said.
“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.”
England, who last won a major trophy at the 1966 World Cup, have been led throughout the 2026 tournament by Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, with both players scoring six goals.
The semi-final will also mark the first meeting between Lionel Messi and England, despite the Argentina captain's long international career. At 39, Messi has scored eight goals in the tournament and trails only Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot.
England and Argentina have met five times previously at the World Cup. Their most famous encounter came in the 1986 quarter-final when Diego Maradona scored the controversial “Hand of God” goal in Argentina's 2-1 victory. Twelve years later, Argentina progressed on penalties after David Beckham was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone.
Tuchel said those historic moments would not distract his team from the task ahead.
“I think the players of both countries are very aware of what it means to them. If a fixture provides so many iconic moments, then you cannot say it is just another football match, but as a coach we do exactly that, focus on what we can influence.”
He added that he would not use the rivalry as extra motivation.
“We know why we are here; we know what we want, we were never shy of expecting that from ourselves, and of saying it or of dreaming it.
“We are in the semifinals, and we arrive very hungry.”
The England manager confirmed his entire squad trained on the eve of the match. Declan Rice has recovered from illness and is available for selection, while Jarell Quansah remains suspended following his red card in the last-16 victory over Mexico.
Tuchel also praised Messi and Argentina's strength under head coach Lionel Scaloni.
“I have no words,” he said when asked about Messi.
“You can see the cohesion, you can see that they are experienced in tournament football.
“They have the same core group of players who have been together a long time, and they have a very experienced and very, very good head coach.
“We know how big the obstacle is, but we are ready for it.”
Argentina have reached the semi-finals after a series of hard-fought matches, while England have also faced difficult knockout ties against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico and Norway.
“It is just my first World Cup as a coach, and it is very rare that you fly through a tournament and everything falls into place from match to match,” Tuchel said.
“We will prepare for the best version of Argentina – we expect and demand the best of ourselves.
“We have not peaked yet, but the match will bring the best out of us, and we are excited.”
The winners will face Spain in Sunday's World Cup final after La Roja defeated France in the first semi-final.
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