Late last night Beijing time, the Argentine team finally announced the 26-man squad for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
As the favorite to win this World Cup and the team of football superstar Messi, Argentina has definitely a high popularity. Therefore, their list of World Cup appearances is also particularly concerned.
In this list, the loudest name is undoubtedly the captain of the current club Paris Saint-Germain, No. 10 Messi.
From the 2006 World Cup in Germany to South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018, Messi has participated in four consecutive editions. Now 35 years old, he will usher in his fifth and should be his last World Cup.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil was Messi's closest to the title, but Argentina was beaten 1-0 by Germany in extra time in the final final. Four years ago in Russia, Argentina lost 4-3 to the eventual champions France in a goal battle in the quarterfinal.
Messi's winners' showroom is now one Hercules Cup away from making a last-ditch fight to become another true champion in Qatar after Pele and Maradona.
And compared with the previous two World Cups, the overall strength of the Argentine team has been significantly improved, and Messi has many more trustworthy good helpers around him. He can finally stop dragging Argentina by himself like before.
The first is Messi's forward partner, in addition to old friend Di Maria, Lautaro and Dybala have good goalscoring ability, and even this time there is the talented young Alvarez, who has just joined Manchester City this season and has continued to score in the Premier League.
Argentina's midfielders De Paul, Paredes and Lo Celso are key midfield combinations that can support Messi in attack and share the pressure on Messi when defending.
Although Lo Celso failed to recover in time for the World Cup, head coach Scaloni has found his replacement – 21-year-old Enzo Fernandez, from Benfica, one of Europe's best performers so far this season.
Like Lo Celso, Enzo is a midfielder all-rounder. Judging from his performances this season, he not only has excellent interception and defensive ability, but also organizes attacks with the ball, and is a rare midfielder all-rounder. Enzo, who is worth 35 million euros, has attracted the attention of many giants.
The steady improvement of the Argentine team's defensive strength is a guarantee for them to attack the World Cup title. Martinez finally solved the embarrassment that the team had not had a good goalkeeper for a long time; The back line, led by veteran centre-back Otamendi, has maintained an extremely high standard this World Cup cycle.
The Argentine team, which won the Copa America last year, now has the temperament of a king team. What's more, Messi's Argentina have been unbeaten in 35 matches since losing 2-0 to Brazil in the semi-finals of the Copa America in 2019.
In this World Cup, Argentina is in the same group as Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia.
List of Argentina players:
Goalkeepers: Martinez (Aston Villa), Ruuli (Villarreal), Almani (River Plate)
Defenders: Molina (Atletico Madrid), Montiel (Sevilla), Gram Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), Pezzera (Real Betis), Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United), Acuña (Seville), Tagliafico (Lyon), Voith (Villarreal)
Midfielders: De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Paredes (Juventus), McAllister (Brighton), Guido Rodríguez (Real Betis), Alejandro Gomez (Sevilla), Enzo Fernandez (Benfica), Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen)
Forwards: Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), Lautaro (Inter), Di Maria (Juventus), Nicolás González (Fiorentina), Alvarez (Manchester City), Dybala (Roma), Joaquín Correa (Inter Milan)