British broadcaster Piers Morgan has minimized the perceived threat posed by Lionel Messi in the upcoming England-Argentina semi-final of the 2026 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 15.
Instead, he has highlighted Jude Bellingham as a player to watch closely.
Bellingham has been in exceptional form during the knockout stages, scoring two goals in consecutive matches, which has propelled the Three Lions to their fourth semi-final appearance, and their second in three tournaments.
His most recent performance featured a two-goal contribution in the 2-1 extra time victory over Norway in the quarter-finals.
This achievement makes Bellingham the first player since the legendary Argentine Diego Maradona in 1986 to net braces in consecutive World Cup knockout matches. Consequently, Morgan has suggested that Bellingham represents a greater threat than Messi.
He said, “All this fearful talk of ‘how will England stop Messi’ is ludicrous. The much more pertinent question is how will Argentina stop Bellingham? He’s the real superstar of this World Cup.”
With six goals in six matches, the Real Madrid midfielder has now joined his captain, Harry Kane, in fourth place on the Golden Boot leaderboard, trailing Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi by two goals, and one goal behind Norway’s Erling Haaland.