England captain Kane issues warning to team ahead of Argentina showdown

The Three Lions will take on defending champions Argentina in Atlanta in what will be the first match between the two nations for 21 years. 

This is not the only milestone being acknowledged in the build-up, there is also the fact that Messi will be facing England for the first time in his international career, and with the 39-year-old and Kane in the race for the Golden Boot, these two goalscorers will want to have a major say in the result of this match. 

'The game is against Argentina, not Messi' - Kane's warning to England

Messi may be coming towards the end of his career, but he has been crucial for Argentina at this World Cup. 

Scoring eight goals and registering two assists, he has been vital in a campaign where Argentina have at times looked poor, but somehow managed to navigate out of difficult positions and advance. 

It will be no secret that England manager Thomas Tuchel will be devoting a lot of his preparation time to finding a way to nullify Messi, but the rest of the Argentina team cannot be ignored. 

This was a notion echoed by Kane during an interview with ITV Sport, where he reiterated Wednesday's semi-final is against Argentina, not just one man. 

"Ultimately, we know how good a player he is, what he’s done in the game, how consistent he’s been for so long, but the game is against Argentina, not Lionel Messi," Kane said. 

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Lionel Messi’s greatest World Cup moments

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One of the eyebrow-raising statistics from this World Cup is how much of the play Messi has spent walking. 

Messi may be lethal in front of goal, but the Argentina captain has spent 63% of his time on the pitch just walking around, which shows just how unique a threat he is against whatever opposition stands in his way. 

When reacting to this particular statistic, Kane explained why it makes Messi and Argentina a strong team. 

"People play football in so many different ways and people like to put a blanket on everyone and say it has to be this way, or that way.

"People find a way of doing it in their own special circumstances. Are there any people who can do it like him? Absolutely not.  

"He’s so effective when he has the ball, especially in this team who believe in him, and everything’s built around him, they have that belief amongst each other."

England players will avoid emotion surrounding semi-final

The fact that Wednesday's match between England and Argentina is the first meeting for some time will generate a feverish atmosphere inside the Atlanta Stadium. 

Argentina's players already use this emotion, for better or worse, to impact their performances on the pitch, and have often at this World Cup been reduced to tears after their knockout matches, especially against Egypt, where they won 3-2 in the Round of 16 after being 2-0 down. 

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For England, dealing with the emotion that surrounds this fixture will be key, and Kane stated that his team will just focus on what's in front of them and not the distractions off it. 

"It’s not something you want to focus too much on, the surrounding history. That’s all part of it," he said.

"From a player’s point of view, it’s us against a great team who are tactical, know how to buy fouls, slow the game down like many different teams you come up against in your whole career."  

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