England national team goalkeeper: I can’t believe I will face Messi

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has faced World Cup penalties, semi-finals and some of the biggest names in football during his record-breaking career, but there is one challenge that has eluded him until now: facing Argentine legend Lionel Messi.

When England face Lionel Messi and defending champions Argentina in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday in Atlanta, Pickford will face the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner for the first time.

For a player who broke Peter Shilton’s record as England’s most capped World Cup player when he started his 18th match in the quarter-final against Norway, the occasion is historic.

The 32-year-old Everton player was eight when England last met Argentina, during the group stage of the 2002 World Cup.

“I remember sitting on the classroom floor at school and watching when the teacher put on the TV, so I’ll never forget that moment,” Pickford told reporters on Monday. Messi has scored a lot of goals and contributed a lot of goals throughout his career, and it’s great to finally be able to face him after all this time and after watching him as a kid.

However, the goalkeeper warned against treating Argentina as a one-man team: We all know how good Messi, 39, is, but we also know how good Argentina is. We have our ideas about their other strengths too, and weaknesses we can take advantage of.