Argentina match England's toughest yet, says Hurst

England football legend Sir Geoff Hurst has said the current team's upcoming World Cup semi-final match against Argentina will be "the toughest, physical game of the competition for us so far".

Sir Geoff was the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, in the 1966 game that saw England beat then West Germany 4-2.

England's current players have a challenge on their hands to reach the final, he said.

"You can talk about [Lionel] Messi being past his best, with his age, he's still performing, he's still scoring and he's a big danger if you allow him to do so," he said.

"You can talk about them being past their best, I don't necessarily agree with that. If you think they are past their best and we are going to walk away with it, those guys must be dreaming."

Sir Geoff predicted the match, which kicks off at 20:00 BST, would be "very tough" and would offer "knife edge" tension.

"There's no way we are going to be winning three-nil at half time or walking away with it," he said.

However, he stressed he would be the first person cheering the England team on.

"Nobody, but nobody in this country realises how big it is to be successful in a World Cup," Sir Geoff said.

"Nobody understands better than me, how important it is and how big it is. This is not just about football, I understand this from the past, this is not just about football, this is a national and international event, against two countries and it's more than a game of football."

Sir Geoff played for Stoke City FC between 1972 and 75, scoring 30 goals in just over 100 appearances.

"My memories of playing for Stoke City are very good ones, I'll be quite frank with you," he said.

"I was not necessarily overly happy about the way West Ham [United] wanted to kick me out, but having said that, moving to Stoke and my three years at Stoke were as enjoyable as I have experienced and not unsuccessful."

He said they came close to winning the league, adding his tenure had coincided with an already fantastic time for the club.

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