As England's talented left-back Nico O'Reilly prepares to face Lionel Messi in the World Cup semi-finals, he's bursting with excitement. For this young defender, it's a chance of a lifetime - a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take on the all-time great and one of the greatest players the beautiful game has ever seen. 'I'm like a kid in a sweet shop!' O'Reilly exclaimed in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, his passion and enthusiasm palpable as he contemplated the challenge ahead.
The stakes are high for Thomas Tuchel's England side, who secured their place in the final four with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Norway. Now they face a formidable foe in Argentina, the defending world champions who are looking to continue their dominance on the biggest stage. And what a prospect it is - Messi, the maestro, who will be facing England for the first time and who knows this may be his only encounter with them.
O'Reilly's reverence for Messi was clear as he spoke about the Argentina captain: 'He's the best player I've ever seen. For me personally, it's a dream come true to play against him.' But it's not just O'Reilly who has Messi on his mind - every England fan will be glued to their screens as the two superpowers clash in what promises to be an epic semi-final showdown.
Messi has been on fire throughout the tournament, netting a hat-trick in Argentina's opening win against Algeria and then adding five more goals to bring his World Cup tally to a staggering 21. He now shares top spot in the Golden Boot stakes with France's Kylian Mbappe, who also has eight goals under his belt.
While Messi undoubtedly poses a massive threat for England, their goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is urging caution against focusing solely on the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. Speaking from England's training base in Kansas, Pickford said: 'We know how good Messi is, but we also know how good Argentina are as a team. We can't just rely on stopping him - we need to focus on their other strengths and find weaknesses we can exploit.'
The winner of this mouth-watering semi-final will book their place in the World Cup final at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday, 19 July 2026. But first, they'll have to get past France or Spain - the opponent for one of these two teams will be determined by the outcome of the other semi-final clash between them.