Rodrigo De Paul has commented on Argentina’s match against England at the World Cup.
De Paul spoke to the media before Argentina’s training on Tuesday. Speaking to the media, here is what he had to say:
“I love these kinds of matches, they motivate me. There’s something special that awakens something in me.
“I’m experiencing it with a lot of joy, it’s a team I have never faced before. I have a lot of joy, excitement and anxiety.
“We are very receptive to the energy the people send us. A unique match. A semi final against a great opponent.
“It’s a football match, I hope they come to enjoy the spectacle and that when the match ends, the Argentines are very happy.”
I hope Scaloni gets it right tomorrow. Didier Deschamps bottled it. He played a 4-2-3-1 against Spain, the best midfielder in the tournament. Yep! 4 attackers and 2 midfielders. Did he really think Touchemani and Rabiot with little help from Olise could contain Spain’s midfield? As far as I know, Touchemani is a defensive midfielder. Spain decimated them in the midfield. Didn’t he see the writing on the wall? At halftime, instead of pulling either Dembele or Barcola for midfielder, he pulled Rabiot for Kone. Yep, a midfielder for another midfielder. Then a forward for another forward.. Bang down 0-2.
This shows great coaches can also bottle it. U simply cannot rely on attack against a controlling midfield of spain. 2 midfielders out of which none were controllers cannot win midfield battle against the GOAT of midfield spain. Thats where the match ended spain midfiled outclassed the french midfield
I don’t know how many of you were around or old enough to have watched Maradona taking on the Redcoats in 1986, scoring the most infamous and the best goal ever scored in WC history, all in the same game.
Maradona showing his clenched fist to the Argentine crowd as he went around was electrifying.
The Albiceleste specifically requested the away jersey for a reason, the ARGENTINA FAITHFUL are going to be pumped and louder than ever tomorrow at the Benz, chanting, screaming, yelling, singing and holding UP MARADONA’S banners and the team will put it all down, don’t be surprised if you see Messi dribbling like we haven’t seen him dribble in years🇦🇷✊️
I CAN’T WAIT.
we are with you brother ! positive vibes everyone ..belive within ! vamos argentina
Looking at the post on who could be brought in, it’s said our changes for tomorrow are either gonna be such that if Nicolás González starts the match, he would start on the left with Alexis Mac Allister on the right.
And if Giuliano Simeone starts the match, he would be on the right side and Alexis Mac Allister on the left side. Palacios also has a chance of starting.
Does anyone have ANY clue how this would even work in practice?? Lmao
It means no de Paul
Macy on either side then on other side has a winger Nico or sim …. The other way it works is both wingers play and the middle three has no DePaul
Enzo par Mac with two wingers Nico and sim
For a midfield 5 3 at the back
The other option is Barco plays DePaul doesn’t and maintain the same narrow 4312
Credit to Spain – Totally in control from the beginning…
France – 1 Bad day in office – but still a force and consistent to be within top 5 teams..Welcome Zidane to the France Coaching..
Argentina – Messi had a day off against Switzerland – the team showed up..Would be great if Midfield is at its best against England..Romero had mentioned we are leaking goals. Indicating the weakness of midfield..
Argentina should reach the finals with some changes…The substitutions has so far worked in Argentina favor..which is good..
Lol, maybe Argentina were not that bad against Cape Verde? Spain completely outclassed France. My God! I guess we should give Argentina credits for scoring 3 goals against Cape Verde. That Cape Verde team was not a fluke.
Every inform big team has one off game in the world cup. Unfortunately for France it happened to be in a semi final.
Also people were saying Argentina got lucky that we didn’t have to play any strong or decent side in our bracket! Well that applied to France too. Also, Rodri what a player! That is how he won that BallonDor!
But Argentina had the dirtiest root every team tried extra hard and went super physical against us no other team had this on them
Argentina always get the try hards either out of hate or just scalp hunting the badge
As mascharano used to say WHY ARE TOU TRYING SO HARD it used to piss him off teams played out there skins against Argentina
I wouldn’t call it a “off-game” for France. They were completely outclassed in the midfield. Spain was completely in control for most of the match, and in the rare cases where France managed to beat Spain’s offside trap, Unai Simon played out of his mind as a sweeper keeper.
That match further reinforced the important of tactics. All NTs have some kinds of weakness, and the manager needs to get the best out of his players while also preventing the opponents from exploiting their weakness. France didn’t do the latter part.
They wernt are only issue was the balls deep back line static shit
We would have had a much easier time if it if that was nipped in the bud
Yes, Depaul should be on the bench. He’s not really helping the team this deep in the competition. And I don’t want Nico Gonzalez starting either. I like the idea so far with him and Lautaro coming off the bench in the second half, it has worked tremendously, if it’s working don’t change the formula. Llorente started the World Cup then Pedro Poro replaced him. Pedri started the WC then Fabian Lius replaced him. No favoritism, no entitlement, these changes made the Spanish national team improve a lot. The changes in their starting XI were based on tactical reasons, not who is next in line. I would like Simeone to start, fresh legs, decent pace, grew up in the Spanish system and is very technical on the ball.
Reaching three finals in a row is not something you can achieve with just a star-studded attack. It takes a complete team, mentality, consistency, and excellence in every area of the pitch. It’s a rare achievement that only the greatest teams in football history have managed to accomplish.
I am honestly glad that Mbappe and this french team are not going to have the same number of Worldcups as us, because we have sent teams that were arguably far more talented to the tournament only to get eliminated because of poor decisions, stubborn tactics, and questionable team selection from our managers.
Hopefully Scaloni watched this match and took some notes for our next match as England have also looked very vulnerable in the back!! They have struggled defensively and have conceded 6 goals, just like us. Also hoping that, Spain has put some much needed sense in Scaloni’s risk averse head on how to neutralize teams with good and fast attackers!! And God!! please No more of the wave after wave of attacks against our slow and sleepy midfield again!!
And also Kudos to Spain’s coaching staff and management team. The way they prepared for this match was absolutely brilliant!!!
The curse is over enjoy it but yes France Germany having equal or more world cups is INSULTING
I have been getting all my wishes thus far, ONE LEFT🙏🙏🙏
BRAZIL OUT
CRYNALDO OUT
FRENCHY OUT
#1 wish left
And I know Messi is inspired to score GOALS.
this is a great outcome for ARGENTINA ladies and gents
Do I have to say “ I TOLD YOU SO”? . French was never a team they were just some individuals put up to play game . Funny how people here was crying over how great France was 😂
Did we just see the best team performance of this edition? Or Spain has more to show in the Finals?
Whatever be the case, Spain may just have shown Argentina the blueprint for beating a team that, on current form, looks stronger: press, press, press—but do it intelligently and collectively.
The question is: who are our Baena and Dani Olmo? Do we have players capable of executing that role for 90 minutes? I’m not entirely convinced.
Julián Álvarez is the one forward who consistently leads the press. Too often, though, Enzo and Mac Allister drop into a defensive block instead of pressing high and disrupting the opponent’s build-up. Against England, that approach could be costly because they won’t stop pressing. They’ll come at us relentlessly, trying to force mistakes high up the pitch.
Spain also benefited from profiles that are difficult to replicate. We don’t have a Cucurella or a Pedro bombing up and down the flanks, nor a Rodri orchestrating the game with complete authority. Paredes is distantly nearest.
Which brings us back to Messi. At 39, he remains the one player capable of deciding a match with a moment of genius. But expecting him to shoulder the entire creative burden against England would be asking too much.
This is where Scaloni earns his salary. He doesn’t need to create another Rodri overnight, but he does need to find Argentina’s version of Baena and Dani Olmo—players who can press relentlessly, run nehind the ball, and give Messi the platform to make the difference.
No need to draw inspiration from Spain France semi.england is not France the strategy should be different.spain is a very young side we can’t press like them out approach should be different england will depend on quick transition and aerial threats
I agree. Spain have one of the youngest squads in the tournament, and the average age of England’s likely starting XI is also around 2–3 years lower than ours (assuming Simeone starts for Argentina).
But at this stage of the World Cup, there is no substitute for an effective pressing game. Spain combined relentless pressing with technical finesse. Over our last three matches, we have shown neither consistently.
Our problems have been recurring: misplaced passes, losing possession too easily under pressure, and retreating into a low block immediately after taking the lead instead of continuing to control the game. Those are precisely the areas England are equipped to exploit.
We cannot change the age profile of our squad overnight, but we can manage the physical demands intelligently. That means pressing collectively while the legs are fresh and introducing energetic substitutes from around the 60th minute to maintain the intensity. If we allow England to dictate the tempo, their pace and athleticism could become overwhelming.
I know ARGENTINA is inspired watching Frenchy getting manhandled like little kids….all that fire Power. Sorry no 3rd Star for you 😂🤣😅
Spain was WAY BETTER than France and DESRVED TO WIN!
This is what happens when you don’t park the bus even when 2 goals up. Well done Spain. If not Argentina, I would love for Spain to win. They are playing the same kind of football Argentina did last world cup. Solid in defense, stylish in attack.
Our defence was no where solid we conceded 8 goals last world cup compared to only 1 of Spain
Fucking france out hope mbappe wont get any goal or assist in loosers final too
Let messi have the golden boot 🔥
Bye bye FRENCHY bye bye Golden Child…daaayuum Frenchy out lolol
Everyone was talking about how scary France are, but Spain have eaten them alive like a parasite eating an insect from the inside. Spain are monsters when it comes to keeping possession. How on earth can anyone beat them?
Well, that’s a story for another day, I guess. What are we going to do to reach the final? Team Argentina has already taken years off our lives. How many more years are they going to take tomorrow? Every time I watch Argentina play, I feel like the distance between me and God gets a little shorter. 🤣🤣🤣
Happy that Spain won. We’ll have a better chance against them based on our style. Now let’s see if Scaloni is brave enough to make changes and give England a lesson. I’m tired of so-called British pundits who are predicting an easy win for England.
SO France capitulates at the first hint of elite opposition and some people here were shitting their pants. One even suggested, we should lose against Switzerland so that we dont face teams like France 😄 Actually we even played better than Spain in the last final.. one mistake from the tired otamendi resulted in their comeback, we were even more dominant.
Now lets get England, the English pundits and their comments are getting on my nerves.. lets thrash them… VAMOSSSS ARGENTINA
Because there scum and shouldn’t be here mundo had had loads of frauds like this over the yrs
Seriously hillarious performance completely outplayed and made France look average. Looking forward to the missed finalissima rematch!
Hope something is learned and reflects tomorrow against the Inglaterians.
Spain are two goals up with 10 mins to go and still not giving an inch and fighting for every ball. But under Scaloni’s coaching manual, if you are one goal up, then defend and defend.
It’s ok, they’re getting inspired as we speak ✌️
Oyarzabal coming off for Ferran Torres, like for like.
This is exactly where Scaloni screwed up – taking out attacking players and needlessly putting in defensive players unbalancing the team. Let’s see if Spain’s different approach leads to a different result.
Spain is practically using the same tactics Argentina used in the first 60-70 minutes of the final to demolish France. Fast and tricky forward passing completely overwhelming the French. They clearly studied that game.
Even the two goals are similar. Penalty, followed by a goal made from a quick sequence of tricky forward movement.
It’s No secret, I want Spain to win
GOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooaaaaallllllllll
Tick tik tik tick TICK tik tik
Yes the current match shows so called game of speed, transition & dynamism can be beaten with quality tactics and a slow possession based game. Offcourse there has to be quality on the ball, legs to run and a strong midfield. Hope the French army marches back home tonight, fingers crossed!
Just had the 3rd one by Yamal that got ruled out, i hope they dont choke..Vamos vamo Argentina!
This is why midfield is so important! France simply can’t cope with how brilliantly Spain is controlling the middle of the pitch. Regardless of the final result, Spain has shown how a well-organized and competent midfield can clip the wings of any attack, even the one featuring the front four of Mbappe, Olise, Dembele, and Barcola.
We all THOUGHT our midfield is our biggest strength but on the actual football pitch, it’s has been our weakest link. I hope Scaloni is taking notes on how to neutralize wave after wave of opposition attacks from Spain and drop Depaul like Spain has dropped Pedri who is in way better form than RDP.
It’s not only that. Spain has completely disrupted their rhythm. They anticipated and intercepted almost every through balls, every pass, and their defense is doing a great job with the offside trap. France has no answer to their pressing.
Spain coaching staff studied France and figured them out.
They’ve been beating them silly not so long ago
If there was one match where we absolutely needed RDP to be in top form, it’s tomorrow’s match, man… He has that grit in him. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been firing on all cylinders lately.
Now, I’m no tactician, but if we look at all the powerhouse teams, none of them play a back three. May be It’s a highly difficult formation to master for National teams who rarely play together. Probably.
I never criticize Scaloni and never will no matter what. Only thing I don’t understand is why, in all these four years, he hasn’t seemed to replace any of our right-backs or left-backs, bar Acuña. That’s strange. Nor were Simeone and Nico González ever used out wide on a continuous basis to see if they could play both attack and defense in a three-man backline. May be shortage of talent in these positions?
Spain is holding on well up to the half-hour mark, but it may only take three or four touches for France to dissect them open.
As you said he replaced Acuña. If not for injury Foyth would probably be playing. Giay I am sure will start getting called.
Confirmed Argentina are the number one team effected by poor refing now official
Most cheated on and fauled
Some if the forage going around post games in s alarming were was var were was the red cards
Seeing the first 10 minutes of France vs. Spain… holy, the intensity is insane. The pressing from both teams is incredible.
This is one of the biggest differences between 2022 and 2026. Back in 2022, most teams simply didn’t press with this level of intensity. Argentina did it better than anyone else.
Now, in 2026, it feels like most top teams have taken inspiration from our approach and significantly raised their pressing game. That’s why it’s becoming much harder for Argentina to beat teams this time.
It’s honestly scary how intense Spain’s and France’s press looks. Keeping possession against either of these teams is going to be extremely difficult.
Spain would be the favourites if we get through tomorrow. And you are 100% correct about the intensity drop off. I could see it with my very own eyes in every game we played in the last 3.5 years. Something wasn’t right with us and the things we were usually good at weren’t coming off.
We’ll see how we get through tomorrow and then re-evaluate.
Oh yh also replied to your comment to me about Palacios and Licha coming in from two posts ago lol
Based on the last three matches, England deserve to start as favourites. They have pace in every line, youthful energy across the pitch, and their passing in transition has been far cleaner than ours. More importantly, they’ve reached this stage without having to rely repeatedly on dramatic late escapes or moments of individual brilliance.
For Argentina, this semifinal is likely to be decided less by emotion and more by tactics. Can Scaloni find the right structure to neutralize England’s speed, prevent them from exploiting the flanks, and regain control of midfield? Can he time his substitutions to change the rhythm of the game rather than merely react to it?
And then there is Messi. England may have advantages in several departments on current form, but Argentina still possess the one player capable of changing a match with a single moment of genius. This could well become a contest between England’s collective intensity and Scaloni’s tactical plan built around Messi’s ability to decide games.
I think your over rating them by a mile
I dont think too much change is wise.
I doubt any team on this WC can afford to have single player walking around 6 km/per match. Perhaps only loosers like Ronaldo’s Portugal or Croatia with Modric.
My second thought..!
Argentina coaching staff planned nicely against their opponents..but..
Match against Algeria, Austria and Jordan seemed easy..!
But..they expected Uruguay or Spain in R32, Turkey or Iran in R16, and Portugal or Colombia in QF. But they got completely different teams..? all physical, fast and defended as unit in the box..? Anyway..Coaching staff immediately changed their tactics during the game and got the results.
From now onwards…the opponents are known..? we expected Brazil or England in semi final..! And France os Spain in final..hopefully Scaloni and co has studied these opponents already..? First time we will have more space in midfield and attack..?
I wish it’s the truth…!
Play slow frustrate England
Haha! Yes ,he wants to confuse the opponents stating that he is going to start.But on the contrary,he will warm the bench.
You can be joyous starting the game on the bench as well.