How Messi’s Unique Style Could Trouble England’s Defenders
England’s road to the World Cup 2026 final goes through one of football’s toughest assignments: stopping Lionel Messi. Ahead of the semi-final against Argentina, The Guardian has published a detailed breakdown of how the 39-year-old continues to confound defenders despite his age — and the numbers make for interesting reading.
Messi’s approach is well documented: he ambles through large stretches of a match, conserving energy, before igniting in the moments that matter most. According to FIFA’s physical tracking data, he covered 64.8% of his total distance against Switzerland at a walking pace of under 7 km/h — a proportion far exceeding that of Harry Kane (40.5%), Lamine Yamal (45.4%), Kylian Mbappé (52.6%) and Erling Haaland (55.7%) in their respective matches.
The flipside is that Messi makes considerably less movement in the moderate-pace categories between 7 and 20 km/h. But the tactical point is this: those prolonged quiet spells make him difficult to track. He drifts into spaces that seem harmless, then accelerates precisely when a chance opens up.
The impact of that approach is visible in his output. No player at this tournament has ended ball carries of five metres or more with as many combined shots and key passes — Messi has delivered 22 such moments through the quarter-final stage.
His sprint numbers are also more competitive than many might expect. The Guardian reports that Messi recorded the equivalent of 85 sprints per 90 minutes in the quarter-final against Switzerland — more than Haaland managed (74) and reasonably close to Mbappé’s 97. His top speed at this World Cup, per Sofascore, is 30.9 km/h, which outpaces Argentina teammates Lautaro Martínez (30.5 km/h) and Alexis Mac Allister (30.2 km/h), and is not dramatically slower than Kane (31.4 km/h) or Jude Bellingham (31.1 km/h).
For England, there is one encouraging data point. Nico O’Reilly recorded the highest top speed among England’s squad at 35.6 km/h and is expected to play a role in managing Messi. Raw pace is an asset, but as The Guardian notes, reading when Messi is about to move is the real challenge — one that pure speed alone cannot solve.
Keep an eye on the live standings and results as England prepare for what would be one of the most scrutinised semi-finals in recent memory.