Argentina and Messi’s last stand in the World Cup

Ever since Lionel Messi started to make a name for himself as one of the best players in the world, the desire to obtain the World Cup and cement himself as the definitive footballer has been there. In fact, a lot of experts and former players have stated that this is the one trophy that Messi needs in order to end the debate about who the best player of all time is.

But as we all know, Messi’s story with the World Cup hasn’t been kind at all to the Argentine starlet.

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It is also worth pointing out that Messi’s country, Argentina, also has a complicated history with the competition. Ever since they won the competition in their home country in 1978 and later in 1986 in Mexico through Diego Armando Maradona’s heroics, Argentina has been putting more and more pressure on every following edition of the World Cup to win it, which is something that has taken its toll on players.

Players like Gonzalo Higuian are reviled by a large amount of Argentina supporters due to his miss against Manuel Neuer in the 2014 World Cup final against Germany in Brazil. That’s how intense the demand for a third World Cup has been over the years and Lionel Messi has also received a lot of criticism over the years for not delivering the goods when it matters.

Well, now at 35 years old, this quite likely Messi’s last shot at glory in the World Cup. But can he do it? Does this Argentina squad have what it takes to make it to the final and win the whole thing? Unlike other previous editions, there is a very interesting factor that plays a big role in Argentina’s chances in the competition this time around: the 2021 Copa America.

Before that triumph against Brazil in their homeland last year, Argentina were in dire need of a trophy. They hadn’t won a trophy since the 1993 Copa America and lots of great players and coaches came and went, almost helping build up the obsession for success and adding a lot more pressure to the situation.

In fact, before this Argentina squad, led by head coach Lionel Scaloni, managed to win this Copa America, there was a lot of scrutiny, pressure and even borderline abuse towards most players for not delivering when it mattered. This was particularly reflected in the 2018 World Cup where the players failed to perform and were beaten by a France side that would eventually win the entire competition.

That is why that victory in the Copa America was so important: it took a lot of pressure off the shoulders of this group of players, Messi in particular. Now people can look back on this group of footballers and see a triumph, which wasn’t a lesser one as beating Brazil in their home soil is something that is going to linger on in the memory of football fans for a long, long time. It was a massive victory and it meant a lot for everybody involved.

In that regard, the impact and management of Scaloni cannot be understated. He is a main figure in this squad and a big reason as to why they have managed to construct a cohesive united in a lot of different levels.

Scaloni doesn’t have a lot of experience at top level football as a manager. He was a very decent football player, but never a coach with a high profile. In that regard, he was criticized heavily by the Argentine media in an unfair manner, and the Copa America made the press to change sides, which is… fairly in line with what the media is in general.

No matter what, Scaloni was a success because he brought peace and unity to the locker room. His man-management has been spot on for the vast majority of his tenure and that allowed them to keep cool in key moments, such as the final against Brazil when in past finals, such as the one against Germany in 2014 or the ones against Chile in 2015 and 2016, they used to crumble due to the abnormal amounts of pressure they were dealing with. Scaloni deserves a lot of credit in that regard.

Argentina have been unbeaten for a long time and that victory in Brazil only cemented that role, which is something worth taking into account. You only have to take a look at the games and how they are performing: they look happy, comfortable and performing with a degree of confidence and know-how that they didn’t show before. Players-wise, there have been better Argentina squads in recent decades, but there has never been one as united and well-structured as this one.

Between all that stability, lies Lionel Messi. It’s amazing, but you look at the players involved in the squad, you hear or read their interviews, and they want to win for him. It’s incredible because, instead of acting like a weird cult of personality, it seems to give the players a lot of focus and direction, which is something that was shown in the final of the Copa America after the final whistle when the players went running towards Messi to hug him.

It shows how well Messi has united and led this Argentina team, and it could be a big reason why they win the World Cup. This is a group of players that no longer has any pressure for winning as they already won–they broke the dry spell for future Argentine generations and they arrive to Qatar with a clear, focused mentality that could very well be the difference-maker this time around for them.

Argentina is always a candidate when it comes to the World Cup, but a lot of times it is mostly due to the individual quality of their players rather than the actual team. This is a team and they can be quite dangerous to any potential rival in the World Cup.