Argentina
Reigning champs whose best player is 38, playing his last chance — and he opened with a hat-trick.
Team rating
- Attack89
- Midfield86
- Defense88
Next matches
- Next upvs AustriaAT&T Stadium, Arlington, TXJun 22
- vs JordanAT&T Stadium, Arlington, TXJun 27
The read
Argentina are the defending champions and the world's #1-ranked team, but they carry a weight no one else does: Lionel Messi, widely called the best to ever play, is 38 and on his certainly-final World Cup. The stakes aren't just to win — they're to send him out right. He opened with (three goals) against Algeria, and they top the group with a clean 3-0.
The fan’s readReigning world champions and a whole country holding its breath for one last Messi miracle — he opened with at 38. The stakes are not just winning; they are sending him out right.
Live storylines
- Messi's Last Dance
The defending champion and the greatest player of his generation is at his record SIXTH and certainly final World Cup, age 38. He chases the one record left: the outright all-time World Cup goals record. This is the last time the planet watches Messi at a World Cup.
Vintage hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria (June 16) — his FIRST-ever World Cup hat-trick at age 38, drawing level with Miroslav Klose on 16 career WC goals, the all-time record. One more goal makes it his outright. Argentina top Group J.
The cast
- Lionel ScaloniThe coach who led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title, still in charge defending it in 2026manager
- Lionel Messi ★The first man ever to play six World Cups opened his last one with the first hat-trick of his World Cup career.ClubInter Miami CF
- Lautaro MartinezArgentina's actual on-form striker arrives as Serie A's top scorer and a Scudetto-winning captain.ClubInter Milan
- Julian AlvarezA World Cup winner at 22, now fighting in real time to be the man after Messi.ClubAtletico Madrid
- Rodrigo De PaulDoesn't make highlight reels — just protects Messi and makes the whole midfield run.ClubInter Miami CF
- Emiliano MartinezThe reigning Golden Glove keeper and penalty-shootout villain played the Algeria opener weeks after fracturing his finger.ClubAston Villa
- Enzo FernándezA World Cup winner at 21 and Chelsea's midfield axis — the deep-lying passer who sets Argentina's rhythm and arrives late for goals.ClubChelsea
- Alexis Mac AllisterLiverpool's do-everything midfielder — wins it back, plays the clever pass, and chips in with goals; the quiet engine of the champions.ClubLiverpool
- Cristian RomeroSpurs' aggressive, front-foot centre-back — wins it high, talks nonstop, and brings the nasty edge every title-winning defense needs.ClubTottenham
- Nahuel MolinaAn Atlético right-back who scored in a World Cup quarterfinal — energetic up and down the flank, with a knack for the big moment.ClubAtlético Madrid
Key moments
- 20222022 — Messi finally wins itArgentina won their third World Cup, beating France in the final 3-3 then 4-2 on penalties — the title that completed Messi's career and gave the country its first since 1986.
- 19861986 — Maradona's masterpieceDiego Maradona dragged Argentina to the title almost single-handedly; in one quarterfinal vs England he scored the illegal "Hand of God" goal, then four minutes later the "Goal of the Century," dribbling past five players.