Argentina is not only about Lionel Messi. This is a band of brave world champions

During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Messi and company defeated the French in the final, winning after a series of penalties (4:2). It was one of the best, maybe even the best final in World Cup history. The Albicelestes proved that after years of waiting, they can return to the throne. The Argentines had been waiting to win the World Cup since 1986.

In the history of football World Cups, Brazil has the most titles – as many as five. Four victories in the history of the World Championships belong to the Italians and Germans. The Argentines won three times (1978, 1986 and 2022).

More than once, the trophy for winning the World Cup was raised – twice – by the players of France and Uruguay.

Lionel Messi faces a huge opportunity! Albicelestes is not only his legend

Messi has been Argentina’s hero for decades. For a long time it seemed that he would be a tragic hero, looking at the World Cup fate of today’s Albicelestes captain. However, Messi equaled Diego Maradona by also winning the World Cup.

Moreover, during the event in Qatar (2022), he was chosen the best player of the tournament. The Argentine received this award for the second time in his career. This previously happened in 2014. At that time, however, it was a consolation prize, because Germany won the final, striking a decisive blow in extra time and beating Argentina 1-0.

Interestingly, Argentina started its march towards the title it is defending at this year’s World Cup from group games, where it competed, among others, with the Polish national team. Although Wojciech Szczęsny managed to save a penalty kick taken by, of course, Messi, the Albicelestes’ victory was never in danger for a moment. And in the end, 2-0 was the minimum penalty.

Messi continues to maintain his great World Cup form. It’s amazing, but at the age of 39, a footballer who usually plays for Inter Miami is leading in most classifications before the 2026 World Cup medal matches.

However, Argentina is not only about Messi. Although a lot depends on the captain, and his teammates play as if he was their living legend (and perhaps he is), the Albicelestes impress primarily with their stability. The unsung hero is coach Lionel Scaloni. When he took over the national team at the end of 2018, even Maradona himself turned up his nose, suggesting that the coach was someone “unqualified” who “couldn’t cope with traffic”.

However, Scaloni proved that he is a great coach. With this coach, the Albicelestes won respectively: Copa America (2021), Finalissima – the match between the Copa America champion and the European champion (2022), the World Championship (2022) and the Copa America again (2024). And now Argentina has reached the World Cup final for the second time in a row.

The Argentine strategist knows how to listen to the team. This was perfectly shown during the video that appeared on the Internet, where you can see Scaloni debating with Leandro Paredes. The player explains where he needs help on the pitch, and after a substantive exchange of opinions, the coach makes the right decision that helps the team.

Will all this be enough for Spain? The great European champions with their young star Lamin Yamal – some say Messi’s successor? If Argentina had won, they would have achieved a feat that only Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962) had achieved in the history of the World Cup. So, as you can see, these are really distant times in the 96-year history of the World Cup.

Albiceleste fans are waiting for another special performance by Messi. In 1978, Mario Kempes led Argentina to the gold medal. In 1986 it was Diego Maradona. Four years ago (2022) Messi, and now? A repetition of Messi’s performance would be something special, in fact impossible to repeat, especially at such an advanced stage of the player’s career.

And in the background there will be the remaining warriors from Scaloni’s team. With the belief that together they want to achieve another gigantic success. Argentina reached the 2026 World Cup final with the highest number of goals scored, scoring as many as 19. However, the Spaniards kept a clean sheet in six matches. Therefore, it promises to be a tough fight for the title, and in the context of the men’s game – on the verge of foul – the Albicelestes feel exceptionally good in these circumstances.

World Cup 2026. Where and when will the 2026 World Cup medal games be played?

From June 11 to July 19, the 23rd FIFA World Cup will be held on pitches in three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada. An event that will certainly be unique, if only because of its format. For the first time in history, as many as 48 teams took part in the main tournament.

The Polish national team was third twice at the World Championships, but those were the old days – we are talking about the events in 1974 and 1982. At the last World Cup, Poles managed to advance to the knockout phase, but were eliminated in the 1/8 finals by the French (1:3).

In this year’s final, the Albicelestes will face Spain. The Argentines eliminated the English in the semi-finals (2-1), while the European champions won (2-0) against the world runners-up, the French. The match for 3rd place will be played on Saturday.

France – England match on Saturday (July 18) from 11 p.m. in Miami. A day later, the grand final, Argentina – Spain, from 9 p.m. in New York/New Jersey.

Matches of the 2026 World Cup can only be watched on Polish Television – on TVP Sport, TVP 1 and TVP 2 and on tvpsport.pl. Additionally, broadcasts will be available in the TVP Sport mobile application and smart TV.