ATLANTA: England have not played with the same intensity that their players display week in and week out in the Premier League, but Argentina’s Alexis Mac Allister remains wary of the physical strength they will bring to Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal. The 27-year-old has played six seasons in the Premier League, winning the title with Liverpool last year, and said he had noticed a difference in the potency of the English side at the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States. “I play against most of them every weekend and it’s clear they’re physically very strong,” he said on Tuesday as Argentina fine-tuned for the clash against England at the Atlanta Stadium. “That said, I think during this World Cup we’ve seen — I don’t know if I’d call it fatigue or not — but they haven’t played with the same intensity that characterises the Premier League. “I don’t know if that’s because of the heat, the weather or other factors, but they’re obviously a great team. We have enormous respect for them, just as we have for every national team we’ve faced.” Mac Allister said the battle against England might, however, be won as much with the mind as with the physical confrontation. “It’s clear that the mental side is extremely important.
