Former Nigeria Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel has thrown his weight behind Argentina ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final against England, declaring himself a firm admirer of Lionel Messi and predicting that Argentina will prove too strong for the Three Lions.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast alongside Joe Cole, Micah Richards, Alan Shearer, and Gary Lineker, Mikel argued that England's midfield has lacked control throughout the tournament — and that Messi and Julián Álvarez are perfectly placed to exploit those weaknesses.

Messi's genius is impossible to contain

Mikel drew on his own playing experience to illustrate the challenge England face, recalling how even elite clubs struggled to neutralise Messi during his peak years at Barcelona.

"I'm a Messi fan, I want Argentina to win," Mikel said. "How do you stop Messi? We've all tried, and we've all failed. He's just a genius — a fantastic player. When we used to play against Barcelona, we'd spend the whole week before the game talking about how to handle him. Mourinho always tried to come up with something."

The former Chelsea and AFCON 2013 winner with Nigeria stressed that individual defending against Messi is essentially futile.

"You can't defend one-on-one against Messi — it's impossible. Man to man, you can try, but you don't want to simply shadow a player like that. The way they move the ball to find one person — if it finds him, everything changes. The way he dribbles, it's like there's a magnet at his feet. And the vision, the things he sees — he's one of the best passers in the world. We talk about his goals, but his passes are incredible."

England's midfield the decisive battleground

Mikel identified the space between Declan Rice and Anderson as the area where Argentina could inflict the most damage, warning that Rice's individual qualities could actually be diminished if deployed to shadow Messi.

"Argentina will win. England haven't been great — they've had just one good half. Lionel Messi and Argentina will find space in that midfield between Declan Rice and Anderson. You don't want to have Declan Rice man-marking Messi, because you'll take so much away from him. That'll be the space Messi will love, and if he gets the ball there, you're dead."

The former UEFA Europa League winner concluded that Argentina's collective experience gives them the edge, noting that the players around Messi know how to protect and serve him in the biggest moments. "The bodyguards Messi has know how to fight for him. They've been there, done that — so with that in mind, Argentina have the advantage," he said.