O'Reilly Embraces Chance to Face Messi

Nico O'Reilly, the 21-year-old England left-back, expressed his excitement about the "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to face Lionel Messi in the World Cup semi-final against Argentina, scheduled for Wednesday. O'Reilly spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live, sharing his anticipation ahead of the match: "I can't wait. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He's coming towards the end of his career. For me personally, he's the best player to ever touch a football pitch. And yeah, I can't wait for the challenge."

O'Reilly and the England team secured their spot in the semi-finals after a 2-1 victory over Norway in Miami on Saturday. Their opponent, Argentina, also advanced after defeating Switzerland 3-1. This match marks the first time that Messi, now 39, will go up against England, and it is likely to be one of his last appearances on such a grand stage.

O'Reilly highlighted that he has not faced Messi at the club level, adding to the significance of the moment. Messi began the tournament with a hat-trick against Algeria, making him the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history by equaling Miroslav Klose's record of 16 goals, which had stood since 2014. Since then, he has scored five more, taking his total to eight goals in this tournament and placing him in joint-first with Kylian Mbappe from France in the race for the Golden Boot. This feat brings Messi’s career World Cup total to 21 goals.

Jordan Pickford, the England goalkeeper, also addressed the magnitude of facing Messi, emphasizing that while he is a significant threat, the team must also be aware of the other strengths within Lionel Scaloni's Argentine squad. "We all know how good Messi is but we also know how good Argentina are. We can’t solely rely on [stopping] Messi. We’ve got to focus on their other strengths and the weaknesses we can take advantage of," Pickford stated at a press gathering in Kansas on Monday.

The winner of this semi-final will advance to meet either France or Spain in the World Cup final at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday, July 19, at 20:00 BST.