When Argentina landed in Qatar four years ago, they were a state possessed. The brothers wage a desperate crusade to make the prophecy they have spent 36 years making come true. But as they head to North America for this summer’s World Cup, the atmosphere has gone from enthusiastic to terrifying.
The soccer world is staring down the barrel of a dynasty.
It feels like a long time ago that Argentina was “almost” defined for a few years, when a generation of world-class talent was haunted by the specter of finals defeat and the suffocating weight of a multi-generational World Cup drought. But when Lionel Messi led a young, hungry and, as he eventually realized, talented team to glory in 2022, the psychological dam burst.
Since that humid night in Lusail, Argentina has evolved from a romantic tale to a cold-blooded behemoth. By winning their second consecutive Copa America title in 2024, Lionel Scaloni’s team cemented their place as the undisputed and dominant force in international football. They no longer play with the desperation of a nation seeking recognition, but with the arrogance of the team that owns the throne.
In the latest episode of the Make Football Great Again podcast, we sit down with Peter Coates, founder of Golasso Argentino and one of the most respected voices in South American football, to dissect the Scaloni cult, Messi’s tactical evolution and whether Argentina have what it takes to win back-to-back titles on the world’s biggest stage.
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ghost of maradona
Silverware still shines in Argentina’s trophy room, but questions still linger on the streets of Buenos Aires. “Is that enough?” Despite eight Ballon d’Or and World Cup medals, Messi still seems to operate in Diego Maradona’s long, flickering shadow.
To get out of this for good, we may need one last strong statement to hold another World Cup. But looking back at history, it’s a difficult task. No country has successfully defended the trophy since Pele’s Brazil in 1962.
“You still see[Maradona]everywhere when you walk down the street: murals, walls, T-shirts, coffee shops,” Coates explains. “Maradona has a different way of identifying with people in a way that perhaps Messi hasn’t quite been able to do yet. He fulfilled the prophecy that a boy born in a poor neighborhood grew up to be great.”
Lionel Messi has yet to capture the hearts of Argentines like Diego Maradona (Image: Getty Images)
He added: “When it comes to Argentina, I would put Maradona as the GOAT (greatest of all time), but Messi is right up there, especially for the new generation.”
messi management
Despite the fact that he will turn 39 years old during the tournament, many still consider Messi one of the best football players on the planet. The Inter Miami star is no longer the enthusiastic dribbler he was in his youth. Argentina have been carefully adjusted for years to compensate for their captain’s limited off-the-ball movement, but they may need to take that adjustment even further this summer to keep their talisman at the center of things.
“I think this is probably the first time we’re going to see his minutes managed in a way that we haven’t seen before,” Coates said. “We may be at a stage where we start to see Lionel Messi playing matches to manage his fitness.
Lionel Messi’s playing time could be carefully managed this summer (Image: Getty Images)
“But when he’s on the pitch, things will still revolve around him. He’ll still want to drop down in midfield and win the ball and make things happen…That means the midfielders,[Rodrigo]De Paul, Enzo Fernandes,[Alexis]Mac Allister, have to do a lot of running to protect the defence, but at the same time they have to come forward and join the attack.”
There is also the question of whether Messi will actually take part. The Barcelona legend has played just three games for his country since 2024 and is yet to officially declare himself a World Cup candidate.
“Messi himself doesn’t really guarantee he’ll play in the World Cup,” Coates said. “He’s still saying, we’ll see how he feels about the injury. I think the conversations with Scaloni will be behind closed doors at the moment… but unless there’s a serious injury, he’ll be part of that team.”
“Messy” winner
It’s easy to forget that before the 2021 Copa America victory and the 2022 World Cup victory, Argentine soccer was, in Cortes’ words, “an absolute mess.” The team’s elimination at the 2018 World Cup was the lowest point where Messi almost left for good. However, the subsequent appointment of Lionel Scaloni – initially seen as a ‘cheap’ interim option – changed everything.
Scaloni not only oversaw a change in tactics and atmosphere, but also introduced “nastyness”. Since then, Argentina have developed a psychological edge that makes them a nightmare to play against.
“It’s like meanness and arrogance on the pitch,” Coates says. “That mentality is, ‘Don’t bully us, don’t be better than us, we’ll find a way. If you want to play dirty, we can do that. If you want to play possession, we can do that.’
Argentina went through an “awkward” losing streak that turned into a winner (Image: Getty Images)
“What I admire most about Lionel Scollani is that this team gradually built up confidence from a team that was more or less broken when he took over and won the Copa America… And almost with this mentality, we just went to Brazil and won the Copa America… Now we can beat anyone.”
“I think they still have that confidence … and I think that’s their biggest strength right now.”
Who are the rising young stars?
Argentina enters the 2026 World Cup not only as one of the favorites to win the tournament, but also as one of the most in-form teams on the planet. But beneath the surface, concerns are growing about a lack of evolution.
In Qatar, Argentina were revitalized by Enzo Fernandes, Julian Alvarez and Alexis Mac Allister’s explosive mid-tournament breakthroughs, sparking a change in the team after a sluggish start against Saudi Arabia.
Four years on, the worrying thing is that the supply of world-class reinforcements has temporarily dried up. “It might be a factor of still relying on those (2022) players,” Coates cautioned.
Many of the Argentina team that won the 2022 World Cup are still active in the first team (Image: Getty Images)
“In the three-and-a-half years since the last World Cup, we have seen a rise of young players who have gotten a lot of minutes and are now not necessarily the main players. We are still more or less looking at the 2022 team.”
But if history has taught us anything, it’s that Argentina’s conveyor belt of talent rarely remains empty for long. The starting XI looks familiar, but Coates has named three players who could follow Enzo Fernandes’ blueprint and “make their mark” on the world stage this summer.
“I’m looking at young players like Nico Paz, who plays for Como and has been outstanding in Serie A. He’s been playing minutes for the first team and he’s showing really good flashes,” Coates said.
“Franco Mastantuono, who was close to the Argentina team, made a big-money move to Real Madrid…His progress is still not like it was during his time in Argentina at River Plate…but maybe he can surprise people at the World Cup with Argentina.”
“Valentin Barco has been playing very well for Strasbourg in France this season, but has not attracted much attention with the national team. After his struggles at Brighton…he was previously seen as a left-back, but has now re-established himself in France as a midfield player.”
expectations
On paper, Argentina’s path to the finals looks easy. The world champions, who were placed in Group J along with Algeria, Austria and Jordan, are the overwhelming favorites to easily break through the group and aim for the top spot.
Lionel Scaloni’s team are favorites to top the group (Image: Diana Carrillo/Getty Images)
But the memory of the 2022 opener serves as an eternal warning against hubris. That afternoon, seemingly invincible Argentina lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history.
“There’s probably a little bit of hesitation going into the group stage with confidence,” Coates explains. “In 2022, of course they were shocked. That’s why you can’t take any team lightly.”
But the pressure on this team isn’t just about running away from the pack. It’s about the incredible height of the bar they’ve set for themselves. In Argentina, the tag of “defending champion” is carrying a lot of weight. The 48-team format has been expanded to introduce an additional knockout round (Round 32), but the expectations remain the same. Excellence is the only acceptable outcome.
“Other than winning another trophy, that’s a very high bar. It’s incredibly difficult to win back-to-back titles,” Coates said.
“But if[Argentina]had been eliminated earlier than the semi-finals, people would look back on it as a pretty lackluster tournament. There would be a feeling that Argentina didn’t do what was expected of them.”
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