Paredes expects another hard-fought match against England in World Cup semis

Leandro Paredes said every match in this World Cup had been suffered through, and he made clear that England would be no exception as Argentina moved into the semifinals. The midfielder’s caution fit a tournament that has been defined by narrow margins, fatigue and knockout rounds that have punished any hint of complacency.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup was the first to feature 48 teams and three host nations, Canada, Mexico and the United States. It began on Thursday, June 11, and was scheduled to finish with the final on Sunday, July 19, in New York/New Jersey, with Argentina still chasing a rare repeat title after announcing its 26-man squad on May 28.

Paredes had returned as Lionel Scaloni’s starting No. 5, a role FIFA said he was ready to handle at full fitness, freeing Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister to push higher and supply the forwards. That balance mattered in a knockout tournament where Argentina had already relied on the midfielder’s timing and positioning to survive difficult moments.

FIFA highlighted one of those moments in particular: a critical sliding challenge from Paredes that helped Argentina advance. The same source noted that he had produced a similar defensive intervention in the Copa América 2024, before Lautaro Martínez scored to send Argentina into the final. Those sequences have reinforced why Scaloni trusted Paredes in the center of midfield even as the knockout bracket grew more unforgiving.

The wider tournament landscape also stripped away easy predictions. By the time the quarterfinals were set, neither Brazil nor Germany was among the eight teams left for the first time in World Cup history, a sign of how unstable the field had become. That uncertainty has lingered over every contender, including Argentina, which has been trying to become the first team since Brazil in 1958 and 1962 to defend the trophy.

England reached the semifinals with a route that showed both resilience and strain. The English side beat Croatia 4-2, drew 0-0 with Ghana, and kept moving through a demanding schedule while seeking its first world title since 1966. Against that backdrop, Paredes’s refusal to accept the label of favorite reflected the reality of this World Cup: one misstep, one late tackle or one exhausted lapse has been enough to change everything.