The manner of their first World Cup success since Mexico 1986 was unforgettable, defeating Kylian Mbappe and France 4-2 on penalties after a pulsating final had ended 3-3 after extra time, bouncing back from a shock opening defeat by Saudi Arabia and surviving scares against Australia and, most notably, the Netherlands.
Since then, Lionel Scaloni’s side have won a record-breaking 16th Copa America title and breezed through qualification for this summer’s tournament in North America, winning 12 of 18 games and losing only four as they topped the CONMEBOL standings by nine points ahead of closest rivals Ecuador, booking their place at a 14th consecutive World Cup.
Not lacking in either talent or confidence and with a familiar, settled squad and gentle-looking group on paper in this expanded format, Argentina should be real contenders to become only the third team ever to win back-to-back World Cups and first since Brazil in 1962.
Argentina World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez, Geronimo Rulli, Juan Musso
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Otamendi, Leonardo Balerdi, Cristian Romero, Facundo Medina, Nicolas Tagliafico
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Giovani Lo Celso, Valentin Barco
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Nicolas Paz, Thiago Almada, Nicolas Gonzalez, Giuliano Simeone, Lautaro Martinez, Jose Manuel Lopez, Julian Alvarez
Influential: Wantaway Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez is a key figure in Argentina’s midfield
Getty
Argentina World Cup fixtures
Argentina vs Algeria (2am on June 17, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City)
Argentina vs Austria (6pm on June 22, AT&T Stadium, Arlington)
Argentina vs Jordan (3am on June 28, AT&T Stadium, Arlington)
Argentina World Cup prediction
Group J should hold no fears whatsoever for Argentina, who will be desperate to avoid another upset like the one we saw against Saudi Arabia four years ago – one of the World Cup’s biggest-ever shocks that jolted them into life.
The lack of travelling between host countries is a bonus, with two of their matches taking place in the same stadium in Texas and the opener near their Kansas City base.
They will likely be able to rotate and keep their best players – not least a veteran Messi – fresh for the important business of the knockout stages, where they could potentially face South American rivals Uruguay in the round of 32 and maybe even Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarter-finals.
Scaloni will be hoping they do not get caught cold by a lack of serious competition in the groups, though that is hardly a concern exclusive to his side among the major powers at a 48-team tournament.
The semi-finals feel like a minimum expectation for Argentina, where, if there are no upsets, they could face one of their arch-rivals in England or Brazil.
Who else? Turning 39 between Argentina’s second and third group games and three years into his Major League Soccer (MLS) stint with Inter Miami, Messi is now some way removed from the stunning pinnacle of one of football’s most illustrious and celebrated careers.
It was not certain that he would even go to a sixth World Cup, not least after an injury scare suffered on club duty last weekend, with long-standing uncertainty over when he would retire from international football for the second and final time.
Pressure off: Lionel Messi finally got his hands on the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar four years ago
PA
Now his place is confirmed, expect Messi to be the absolute heartbeat and fulcrum of this Argentina side, as he always has been since making his debut some 21 years ago, with his 200th cap likely to arrive during the pre-tournament warm-up friendlies against Honduras and Iceland.
With the pressure of finally winning the World Cup off his shoulders, and with this, alongside great rival Ronaldo, surely to be his last dance on the biggest stage of all, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has the freedom to make it another summer to remember.
To win the World Cup: 9/1
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