Argentina are one victory away from a second successive World Cup final, and their semifinal against England has been shaped by one striking detail: six of their players come from the Premier League, and five are expected to start. For Emiliano Martínez, that means a night built around familiar faces from Aston Villa, with Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa waiting on the other side.
That is why the search now keeps landing on Which One. Argentina’s squad for the 2026 World Cup is not just packed with Premier League names; it is built around them. Martínez is joined by Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur, Lisandro Martínez of Manchester United, Alexis Mac Allister of Liverpool and Enzo Fernández of Chelsea, giving Argentina a core that already lives inside England’s club game.
The club crossover runs deeper than the headline number. Argentina have no Liverpool players in the England squad, while England’s roster includes two Chelsea players, Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah. Martínez began his career at Arsenal before establishing himself at Aston Villa, and he now faces the kind of reunion that gives this semifinal its edge: not a rivalry in the abstract, but a goalkeeper staring down teammates who know his game as well as any opponent can.
There is also a mismatch inside the larger picture. Argentina are described as having six Premier League players, yet the rest of the roster is spread far beyond England. No fewer than six members of the squad play for Atlético Madrid, Giovanni Lo Celso is under contract with Real Betis, and only three players on the list are attached to Argentine clubs: Nicolás Otamendi and Gonzalo Montiel at River Plate, plus Leandro Paredes at Boca Juniors. Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul are in MLS with Inter Miami, which leaves the Premier League group as the most visible bridge between these two semifinalists.
If Argentina beat England, they will move into a second successive World Cup final and a third in four tournaments. That is the scale of the night. The next question is not whether Martínez will know the players in front of him, but which one of these familiar club ties England can turn into an advantage when the match begins.
