Argentina 26 World Cup Preview

I sat on my family's living room couch on December 18, 2022 in an Argentina kit desperately rooting for them to win so Messi could finally be a world champion. He is undoubtedly the best player I've ever seen with my own eyes, was back then & was probably as early as 2011 honestly. But I had held on for a decade to my belief, that you cannot be the greatest *of all time* without that World Cup. It felt like I was staring down the barrel of the last chance. His dream came true as I celebrated that victory nearly like it was my own damn team out there, so happy for him.

I yap about this to set the stage to how different I feel about Argentina right now. The instant anyone wins a World Cup, I don't root for them during at least the next 4 years because I never cheer for reigning champions in anything, my teams aside. But Argentina have taken that starting point & have become so much unlikable in my eyes. Shit on the field that had started as early as 2021, for 2 years couldn't overcome my want of that World Cup for Leo, but now that he had it it became so much more unbearable for me. And that's before the off field issue: they celebrated their 2024 Copa America by singing an incredibly racist song together about the France team that they were still thinking about for some reason that night. Enzo posted the fucking thing & Mac Allister went out of his way to defend him.

Thus, the team I was cheering for as if it was my own in all of 2021-2022 enters 2026 as the team I dislike the most, edging ahead of Morocco after those post-Copa scenes. I've pivoted aggressively to rooting very hard against them.

... So that's my very personal anecdote to open up this preview!

I imagine other, notably professional previews, will open still talking about Messi's Legacy; "can he win multiple in his last runout" & that sort of stuff.

Well, you're reading my words & I don't care about anybody collecting multiples of the same trophy. Am I unambitious? Maybe! But even the fact that Messi is debatably my favorite player of all time cannot get me over my feelings on this team in that I think it will be very funny & endorphin-releasing whenever they do get eliminated, if they don't repeat the title.

Alright we can finally talk objectively now.

Well, not objectively because when I think of the word "tactics" with this team I don't think of the Scaloni-led instructions, I think of the shithousing tactics that they have become complete masters at. The scumbag stuff that really gets the oldhead in me upset. Unless there is aggressive action to suddenly enforce this stuff, this shit is positively correlated with winning. 2018 France was literally timed to have spent more time on the floor than any other team & a lot of others, club & country, have been stealing that playbook ever since.

So above any formation or ideas, I truly think the defining tactic of Argentina is their shithousery. It works, it was a central part of their 2022 victory that can't be ignored. They're gamers. Hate the player not the game, if you want - I'll be hating both over here.

A lot of places are going to say they play a 4-3-3 but it's undeniably an out-of-possession 4-4-2 & I would argue even in possession they are not looking like a 4-1-4-1, Messi is not habitually getting out wide. He will, of course, as he scans the field & determines the right space to take up. But ultimately Messi ends up as a right-sided striker in a central pairing, doing whatever the hell he wants because he's earned it. Also, the press need to stop trying to milk articles out of the made up "will Messi play?" question. It is not a question. He is still integral to them.

In possession, they're one of the slowest teams in the world. Never in a hurry, happy to creep up the field at a glacial pace as long as they hang onto the ball. It's patient stuff that becomes super narrow in the final 3rd:

Out of possession, my goodness are the lines in that 4-4-2 compact as hell. They sit the block right in the middle of the field & defend it very well, hardly ever seeing chances go against them.

Scaloni remains underrated to this team's unbelievable success this decade, somehow. I am quick to praise him too because he, like other good international managers, lets players earn their keep. Play well in the stripes, who cares what's going on at your club. We'll see 2 MLS players for them & yeah one is Messi, but De Paul drives home that point a lot.

Messi may be the favorite & best still, but Julian Alvarez is the most interesting player in this team right now. He's basically an attacking everyman who lines up anywhere that lets the rest of the team fit & works his ass off to be everywhere on that field, as a left mid or as a striker:

Alvarez combines that work rate with world class technicality - his first touch is among the best in the world - & if you want to stand up any argument of another player being more important than Messi, he is the only one with legs to stand on there. One of my favorite players right now.

Argentina do have one real problem of letting teams hang around. They rarely ever put games away with even 2-goal margins & have built up a bit of a bad habit with late conceded goals dropping them results. Among the favorites, they're pretty susceptible to get blockout out by a bus.

While the whole shithousing idea still works in their favor more than against it, it can still hurt them - watch Nico roll all over the floor as they concede an equalizer to nearly get knocked out of Copa in penalties against Ecuador:

You can also insert as a worry the general "Men's World Cup champions don't repeat" thing, none since 1958-1962 Brazil. History not on their side to defend the title.

If anyone can find the inspiration to win a repeat World Cup like they've never won it before, it's this group. Just watch any of their competitive goals in the past 4 years to see just how meaningful every. single. result is to this group. Argentina are on a roll this decade because they are so good in every margin that matters in international play, the biggest 2 biggest shithousing & set pieces. Near impossible to imagine them losing in open play. These are all things that have made them perfect in competitions the past 6 years.

Oh also, they have the greatest player of all time on their team who is still magic. And they still have the coach who realized that surrounding him with 10 workhorses led by Julian Alvarez really works at this level.

Don't take them to repeat, believe in history on that one; also don't take them for an early upset, the curse that France shook off in 2022. Every stadium they play is is going to look like a home game for them until probably, like, the semifinals. Even then, still 51-49 to them.

The small window of quarter-semifinal exit feels right. And yes, to talk about bracketology, facing Portugal in that final 8 game is quite likely.

Results-wise, they are the best team of this decade & nobody is even close: Copa-World Cup-Copa. 2 years later, they are still that good.