England star sends 'no friends' message to Argentinian club teammate

Ezri Konsa knows an opponent on Wednesday very well (Picture: Getty Images)

Ezri Konsa

will face

Aston Villa

teammate

Emiliano Martinez

when

England

face Argentina on Wednesday night and there will be ‘no friends’ when the nations clash.

A meeting with Spain in the

World Cup

final awaits the winner in Atlanta, with the match a very difficult one to call.

Both have clearly done well to reach the semis but both have also been pushed hard in the knockout phase by opponents they were favourites to beat.

England edged out DR Congo, Mexico and Norway, while Argentina have narrowly beaten Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland.

There will be plenty of familiar foes for the England players on Wednesday night, with the likes of Cristian Romero,

Lisandro Martinez

and

Alexis Mac Allister

all plying their trade in the

Premier League

Emi Martinez has played alongside Konsa at Villa Park since he moved there in 2020 and the Three Lions defender knows him very well.

‘He is a fantastic keeper, great keeper. I have played alongside him for many years, his mentality and the way he wants to win, I have learned some things from him from my time at Villa, so it will be nice to see him tomorrow,’ said Konsa.

Emiliano Martinez hopes to be a hero for Argentina again (Picture: Getty Images)

‘Everyone knows Emi Martinez, we know what he’s about and know what he can do so we will be ready.

‘I haven’t had the chance to speak to him, I’m sure when I see him tomorrow it will be nice to see him again after a long time. Once we get on that pitch, there’s no friends.’

Konsa, somewhat surprisingly, admitted that the England squad had not watched any of Argentina in action on the eve of the semi-final, but would probably do so before the game.

Konsa has been a key figure for England at the World Cup (Picture: Getty Images)

‘We haven’t managed to watch any of their games,’ he said. ‘I’m sure, when we have the meeting tonight or tomorrow, we’ll see some clips of them and see what we can do to overcome them. I’m sure they’ve got a great mindset, great mentality, and so do we.’

The 28-year-old has been something of an unsung hero for England so far at the World Cup, starting all six matches so far and filling in at right-back as well as his more natural centre-back.

He may be at right-back again on Wednesday and has no problem with it if he is.

‘It’s a position that I’m very familiar with,’ he said. ‘I’ve always said wherever the manager wants me to be, I’ll always do my best and I feel comfortable there whether it’s centre back or right back. So we’ll have to wait and see tomorrow if I’m doing the same role.’

Reece James is available again after a hamstring problem (Picture: Getty Images)

Reece James returned from injury from the bench in the quarter-final against Norway and could be back in the starting XI at right-back in the semis.

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