England vs Argentina prediction: 13-1 Bet Builder tip, odds, team news | World Cup 2026

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England vs Argentina World Cup kick-off, date, TV channel and venue

Date Wednesday, July 15
Kick-off 8pm
Venue Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Stage of Competition Semi-finals
TV channel BBC One

England and Argentina have contested some memorable World Cup matches but nothing has been more significant than their upcoming contest at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium which offers the rich reward of a place in the 2026 World Cup final.

The Three Lions are bidding to reach a World Cup final on foreign soil for the first time but they face a tough test against the defending champions, who were their conquerors during the knockout rounds at Mexico 1986 and France 1998.

Bet Builder

England v Argentina

Wed, 15 July, 20:00

Julian Alvarez

Player To Score

Jude Bellingham

Player To Have 1 Or More Shots On Target Including Woodwork

Cristian Romero

Player Shown a Card

£10 returns ≈ £148.35

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England vs Argentina betting tips & predictions

Best bet

Argentina to qualify
1pt 11-10 bet365

Argentina have been far from perfect over the last few weeks but they have upped their game at critical moments and their strong mentality could hold the key to overcoming England in an evenly matched contest.

England edged past Norway but were unconvincing for large parts of that game and their luck may be about to run out.

Best player bet

Lionel Messi to register an assist
19-4 Coral, Ladbrokes

England vs Argentina World Cup match preview 

England have qualified for their fourth World Cup semi-final despite a mixed bag of performances but they used up plenty of good fortune against Norway and may struggle to advance beyond Argentina.

Reaching this stage is a significant achievement for the Three Lions, although the verbal jousting between Thomas Tuchel and Jude Bellingham demonstrates that there is a desire and perhaps an expectation to go at least one step further.

Tuchel demands high standards and couldn't ignore that his team had performed below those levels against the Norwegians.

Progress was heavily dependent on Bellingham, who bagged another two goals, including an outstanding equaliser which stands out as the pick of his six-goal tournament haul.

And Bellingham felt entitled to defend himself and his team-mates, who had given everything physically during a contest played out in sweltering, energy-sapping conditions.

However, Tuchel has long been searching for a more polished, controlled version of his England team and that looked further away than ever after the events in Miami.

Tuchel's post-match comments were evidence of honest frustration rather than clever mind games and he will be intelligent enough to know that he, as well as the players, bears responsibility for the iffy performance which would probably have been punished by more seasoned opponents.

England noticeably struggled after the first drinks break, when Norway threw off the shackles and pursued a higher press, and they got even worse in the second half when Tuchel's substitutions failed to have the desired impact.

Tuchel has been praised for his substitutions and tactical changes in other matches but his attempts to fix the problems against Norway seemed confused. Eberechi Eze struggled to make an impact in central and wide positions, and Reece James spent periods in midfield and at right-back.

England never looked comfortable and were grateful for Orjan Nyland's goalkeeping error as they scraped through in unconvincing fashion.

Critics of England could say they are yet to come up against a heavyweight team.

But the same assessment could be levelled at Argentina, who have been far from fully convincing despite making their way through a soft section of the draw.

After being taken to extra-time by Cape Verde and to the brink of elimination by Egypt, Argentina might have hoped for a more routine experience against Switzerland, who were contesting their first World Cup quarter-final since 1954.

Their victory over Switzerland was assisted by a moment of madness from Breel Embolo, who received his second yellow card after a clear dive, but it also came about with the help of a moment of brilliance from Julian Alvarez, who erased weeks of frustration with a swish of his right boot.

There were three different scorers – none of them Lionel Messi – as Argentina showed they can be more than a one-man band.

Afterwards there were probably mixed feelings in the camp and Argentina will have been relieved to get through and are aware they need to improve.

The parallels between Argentina and England, who have both stuttered and survived, are there for all to see, and there is little chance of their meeting being a routine, stress-free exercise for either side.

However, Argentina have that little bit more experience at handling the very biggest of occasions and, for that simple reason, they look overpriced to emerge victorious.

Messi vision could vanquish England

Messi was below his best against the Swiss, although he influenced the outcome with a delightful corner for Alexis Mac Allister's deadlock-breaking goal.

It was the 39-year-old's second assist of the tournament and was probably overdue because there have been numerous instances of teammates wasting the Inter Miami player's approach play.

After the quarter-finals, Messi's expected assists figure of 3.4 was comfortably the highest in the tournament.

He is a team player as well as a prolific goalscorer and his creative quality could be key to ending England's challenge.

England vs Argentina World Cup Bet Builder tips

Julian Alvarez to score at any time

Alvarez popped up with the match-winner against Switzerland and looks ready to have a huge say in the semi-final.

Jude Bellingham to have an attempt on target (including woodwork)

England's outstanding player gives them their best chance of scoring.

Cristian Romero to be carded

The aggressive 28-year-old has got through five matches without being booked, but his unblemished disciplinary record may not survive such a high-stakes encounter.

Pays out at 13-1 with Paddy Power

Key stats for England vs Argentina

♦ England have led at the break in only one of their last seven World Cup games
♦ England have kept just two clean sheets in their last seven World Cup matches
♦ Argentina are unbeaten in their last 12 World Cup matches
♦ The Albiceleste have started the scoring in 12 of their last 13 fixtures
♦ Argentina's last four matches have featured goals for both teams

England vs Argentina betting odds

Sign up with Ladbrokes to bet on this match. Here are the latest odds:

Odds correct at time of publishing

Want more top World Cup betting advice? Make sure you take a look at Racing Post Sport's World Cup 2026 tips for more of the latest picks from our experts.

England vs Argentina team news and confirmed line-ups

England

Jarell Quansah completes a two-game ban but Declan Rice, Djed Spence and Reece James start and Morgan Rogers is in on the right wing. 

Predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Pickford; James, Stones, Guehi, Spence; Rice, Anderson; Rogers, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane.
Rest of squad: Konsa, Madueke, Burn, Chalobah, Eze, J Henderson, D Henderson, Mainoo, Rashford, Saka, O'Reilly, Toney, Trafford, Watkins.

Argentina

Lionel Scaloni has changed formation and brought winger Giuliano Simeone in for Rodrigo De Paul.

Predicted line-up (4-4-2): E Martinez; Molina, Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Tagliafico; Simeone, Fernandez, Paredes, Mac Allister; Messi, Alvarez.
Rest of squad: Almada, Barco, Gonzalez, Lo Celso, Lopez, Lautaro Martinez, Medina, Montiel, Musso, Otamendi, Palacios, Paz, Rulli, Senesi, De Paul.

Read more:

England vs Argentina World Cup Bet Builder tips, picks and odds 

Jamie Griffith: Thomas Tuchel is right, England can do better – but they don't need to yet 

England vs Argentina player specials: Saka should play a starring role in World Cup semi-final 

Tim Vickery: Argentina see England as their greatest rivals – but they are there for the taking 

FAQs

When is England vs Argentina at the FIFA World Cup 2026?

England vs Argentina takes place on Wednesday July 15th and kicks-off at 8pm BST.

Where is England vs Argentina being played?

The venue for the game is the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

What TV channel is England vs Argentina on?

BBC One are showing the game live in the UK.

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