Not for the first time, Argentina needed a diminutive attacker to produce a moment of magic to win a match last week. The only difference was that it wasn’t Lionel Messi who conjured it up. Instead, it was Thiago Almada who netted a stunner to give La Albiceleste a narrow 1-0 victory in a crucial 2026 World Cup qualifier against Uruguay.
Messi watched from Miami where he is undergoing rehab for an injury picked up playing for Inter Miami before the international break. The Major League Soccer club are tight-lipped at the best of times when it comes to Messi’s fitness status and so it’s unclear whether the adductor strain will keep him out for any great period of time.
Even if Messi is back in action quickly, Argentina must look to build something in preparation for when their greatest-ever player finally calls it a day. With the 37-year-old currently sidelined, the 2022 World Cup winners will get a glimpse of what a post-Messi future will look like when they face Brazil on Tuesday night.
Against Uruguay last week, Lionel Scaloni set up his attack to play off Julián Alvarez with Almada in the left half-space and Giuliano Simeone on the right side. Argentina were happy to concede a lot of possession to open up space in quick transition with Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández and Leandro Paredes comfortable controlling the ball in the middle when they could.
Alvarez led the line for Argentina as they won the 2022 World Cup, but he has developed a lot as a centre forward since then. In Qatar, the then Manchester City player was used as something of a ‘False Nine.’ He was in the team to create space for others around him. Now, Alvarez is a difference-maker in his own right, as he has demonstrated for Atlético Madrid this season.
Simeone is another who has made an impact for Atleti recently with the 22-year-old an irrepressible force in and out of possession. He might not be the most refined in a lot of his attacking play, but Simeone is carrying his winning mentality into the Argentinean national team. He is an asset.
Almada produced the game-winning moment, finding the back of the net with a laser from outside the box. The 23-year-old has made a good start at Lyon since making the move to Ligue 1 from Botafogo in January and is also growing in stature for Argentina. He will surely have a role to play at the 2026 World Cup.
Nico González came off the bench in the second half while Bayer Leverkusen’s Exequiel Palacios was also introduced to offer more muscle in the centre of the pitch as Argentina protected their lead. The highly-rated Nico Paz was also in the squad having caught the eye for Como in Serie A this season.
Of course, none of these players are Messi. Nobody is. If all goes well, Argentina will still be able to call on the former Barcelona number 10 next summer when La Albiceleste will be defending their title. Messi might be playing in MLS, but at his best he is still capable of winning a match at the top level.
The concern for Scaloni must be that Messi’s recent injury record casts doubt on his ability to play high-intensity matches in quick succession. He has missed a lot of football since making the move to Inter Miami two years ago. This season, Messi has started just two out of five MLS fixtures. Last season, he started only 16 games.
For the 2026 World Cup and beyond, Scaloni must build something for Argentina that makes sense and functions with or without Messi. There are signs he is already doing this – it wasn’t just Messi who missed last week’s World Cup qualifying win over Uruguay, but Lautaro Martínez and Paulo Dybala too.
“The national team is a team. When one is missing, another steps up,” explained Scaloni after Almada’s goal put Argentina on the brink of rubber-stamping World Cup qualification. “We had some very important absentees, but we have great players to go out on the field. The team is always more than just the names.”
Argentina enter Tuesday’s match against Brazil seven points clear of their rivals at the top of CONMEBOL qualifying. The Seleção have recovered after a slow start to the campaign, but Argentina are very much seen as the dominant force in the region right now. A home victory on Tuesday would further confirm this while showing La Albiceleste are looking ahead to the next generation. A generation without Messi.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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