Home and Away World Cup Special Episode 6

In this World Cup Special episode of Tottenham – Home and Away, Graeme and Glen are joined by Chris Herrera from Buenos Aires to preview a massive England vs Argentina World Cup semi-final.

We discuss the build-up from both sides: the mood in Argentina, how Buenos Aires has reacted to the tournament, whether Argentina are relying too much on Lionel Messi, and why this current side looks slower and more fatigued than the team that won the last World Cup.

There’s also plenty of England talk after the quarter-final win over Norway: the heat, the conditions, Jude Bellingham stepping up again, Morgan Rogers’ impact, Dan Burn, England’s squad depth, and why the Azteca win over Mexico may have given England a new level of belief.

We also get into the history and emotion of England vs Argentina: 1966, 1986, Maradona, the Hand of God, the Goal of the Century, 1998, Beckham, Simeone, and why this fixture still feels like proper football theatre.

Elsewhere, we look back at the other quarter-finals, including France beating Morocco, Spain grinding past Belgium, and what the Spain vs France semi-final might look like. Finally, we give predictions for both semi-finals and ask whether England vs Argentina could be one for the ages.

Please like and subscribe for more World Cup specials from a Spurs perspective.

Come on England — and come on you Spurs.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro — England vs Argentina semi-final preview 00:23 Glen gets the semi-final he wanted 00:34 Graeme looks ahead to Wednesday 00:49 Finally, a reasonable UK kick-off time 01:03 Chris joins from Buenos Aires 01:16 Argentina vs England excitement builds 01:46 The mood in Buenos Aires 02:11 Did Argentina only wake up in the quarter-finals? 02:41 Argentina’s miraculous comeback against Egypt 03:09 Argentina not playing at their brightest 03:39 Fatigue in the Argentina squad 04:08 Enzo Fernandez, Mac Allister, Martinez and Romero 04:55 Weather, workload and winter in Argentina 05:54 Kane, Bellingham and players outside the Premier League 06:34 Chris on England’s football and mentality 07:04 France, Spain and Argentina comparisons 07:59 Tuchel, mentality and England’s manager 08:18 Poor journalism after the Mexico game 08:49 Bellingham’s response to criticism 09:05 Which Argentina players would improve England? 09:56 Which England players would improve Argentina? 10:10 Argentina’s winger problem 10:39 Missing Di Maria’s role 11:08 Messi moved wide to unlock games 11:50 Saka or Madueke for Argentina? 12:10 Why Argentina need runners, not technicians 12:37 Messi still carrying Argentina 13:01 Messi looking better than four years ago 13:15 Would Jude Bellingham get in Argentina’s midfield? 14:02 Bellingham, Madrid and club form 14:22 The debate around leaving Jude at home 14:51 Why Bellingham would change Argentina’s system 15:28 The history and spice of England vs Argentina 16:04 Chris on the fixture beyond politics 16:34 Argentina’s extra motivation 17:33 Expecting a great match 17:42 Could this be like England vs Argentina 1998? 18:24 Beckham, Simeone and the 1998 red card 19:04 Previous World Cup meetings 19:33 Maradona, 1986 and the Hand of God 20:06 The Goal of the Century 20:32 England vs Argentina 2005 friendly 21:10 England vs Norway quarter-final conditions 21:35 Heat, humidity and thunderstorms 21:53 Declan Rice playing after illness 22:19 Did England always look likely to find a way? 22:43 Norway’s threat on the break 23:11 England keeping Haaland quiet 23:26 Dan Burn heads everything 23:37 Alfie Haaland’s reaction 23:51 Norway’s missed chance to square it to Haaland 24:20 Chris on Norway’s performance 24:57 Norway’s mentality against Brazil 25:26 Norway playing tiki-taka against Brazil 25:56 Why the Azteca win mattered for England 26:25 Bellingham goes up another level 26:54 Kane creating space for Bellingham 27:24 Alvarez, Messi and shared attacking threats 27:37 England’s squad depth in brutal conditions 28:03 Morgan Rogers and the value of having a shot 28:19 Why teams are reluctant to shoot 29:03 Managing energy in extreme heat 29:25 Relief that England vs Argentina is indoors 29:55 Spain vs Belgium quarter-final reaction 30:24 Spain’s lack of passion and dull control 30:43 Spain vs France semi-final preview 31:16 Could Spain smother France? 31:46 Morocco’s injuries and France’s win 32:18 France’s scary transitional play 32:47 France playing like Brazil 2002 33:13 Top four FIFA-ranked teams reach the semi-finals 33:21 First all-former-winners semi-final line-up since 1990 33:50 Spain vs France predictions 34:03 Graeme predicts a cagey France win 34:27 Chris wants extra time in the other semi-final 35:09 Yamal yet to explode 35:31 England vs Argentina predictions 35:43 Glen predicts chaos after 90 minutes 36:06 Graeme expects goals and extra time 37:04 Chris gives Argentina the edge on penalties 37:33 Emiliano Martinez and penalty danger 38:00 Gary Neville and memories of 1998 38:30 How Chris will watch the game 38:55 Watching England at home vs the pub 39:24 One for the ages 39:44 Why the semi-final should have been at the Azteca 40:17 Canada, Mexico and safer World Cup hosting ideas 40:36 Glen plans a future Argentina trip 40:46 Outro — like, subscribe and back to club football soon 41:16 Come on England