Coach Thomas Tuchel must have had a lot to think about during the 15-minute cycling around the hotel grounds of the England team throughout the past week.
This is a habit that helps him relax his mind, see every problem from a new perspective. The German coach often buys an ice cream, cycles around the parking lot and enjoys the feeling of returning to his youth, when life was much simpler.
However, this week, Tuchel's thoughts are certainly not light at all. He must consider the consequences of the criticisms for England's performance, prepare for the historic confrontation with Argentina, calculate the fitness of his students, and find ways to end the 60-year World Cup final drought of the "Three Lions". Above all, he must also build a plan to stop Lionel Messi.
It was a week full of fluctuations, inevitable as England prepares to enter the World Cup semi-final match with Argentina, one of the most fateful matches in football history.
Tuchel's last press conference before the match encapsulated that atmosphere in about 30 minutes. The story of Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" was constantly mentioned. Although David Beckham's red card at the 1998 World Cup did not appear in the questions, England's defeat in the penalty shootout at Saint-Etienne is still an unmissable memory.
It has been more than 20 years since England and Argentina last met in an official match, but the heat of this confrontation is still intact.
For his part, Tuchel tried to help his players stay away from non-professional stories to fully focus on the match.
The players all understand the meaning of this match. This is not an ordinary match. It is associated with many symbolic moments.
However, as a coaching staff, we only focus on what we can control. We are not talking about history or past stories. The pressure is already large enough. What we want is to help the players focus on their tasks. The bigger the match, the more we cannot let emotions dominate" - Tuchel said.
Those emotions exploded after the 2-1 victory over Norway in the quarter-finals. England had to play 120 minutes in harsh weather conditions in Miami, but Tuchel was still not satisfied in many aspects.
Jude Bellingham, the hero with a double goal, disagreed with Tuchel's comments. However, after everything subsided, Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa both affirmed that the atmosphere in the team has never been as united as it is now.
However, the biggest problem - Messi - is still there.
Messi has never faced England in his international career. If Maradona is associated with the 1986 match with "the hand of God" and "the goal of the century", then Messi is now facing the opportunity to help Argentina defeat England to reach the World Cup final for the second consecutive time.
At the age of 39, the Inter Miami superstar still scored 8 goals at the 2026 World Cup and can always decide the match with just a moment of genius.
It's as if the ball is always coming to his right position. Messi always creates space for his left foot and handles it at the highest level" - Tuchel commented when asked about the plan to block the Argentine captain.
However, confidence still exists inside the England headquarters. Guehi believes that pressure belongs to Argentina, while Tuchel proactively keeps the team in his own "bubble", away from expectations and the enthusiastic atmosphere from home.
He clearly understands that English fans are waiting for a ticket to the World Cup final after 60 years.
