As the champion of the 2022 World Cup, the Argentine team is currently strong in all three lines under the leadership of Messi, but the king of the plum ball is already 36 years old, and Di Maria is also 35 years old.
In the forward line, the Argentine team has always had no shortage of top attackers, and the Argentine forwards in the post-Messi era have shown a blowout, and the old, middle and young echelons are very good, and the Argentine team is still worth looking forward to in the 2026 World Cup.
Veterans grow stronger
1. Dybala (Roma, worth 30 million euros)
Dybala was born on November 15, 1993, and before he knew it, the little demon fairy was already a 30-year-old veteran, although Dybala has never been the absolute main force of the Argentine team, but his skills are comparable to Messi and Di Maria.
Dybala started his career at Cadenza Córdoba in the Premier League, moved to Serie A side Palermo in 2012 and arrived at Juventus in 2015 for €41 million, scoring 115 goals and providing 48 assists in 293 appearances for the Bianconeri in seven seasons.
Dybala joined Jose Mourinho's Roma on a free transfer in the summer of 2022 after his contract with Juventus expired, and Dybala has been equally impressive in the Eternal City, scoring 18 goals and providing seven assists in 38 appearances last season, and this season Dybala and Romelu Lukaku have partnered as a two-striker, scoring four goals and providing six assists in 14 appearances.
The 30-year-old Dybala is still in good shape, and as he gets older, Dybala's use of technique becomes more and more reasonable, which can be said to be the source of Roma's attack. In the future, after Messi and Di Maria withdraw from the national team, Dybala is likely to become the tactical core of the Argentine team, after all, in terms of left-footed skills and individual ability, Dybala is only inferior to Messi.
So far, Dybala has made 38 appearances for Argentina, scoring three goals and providing seven assists.
2. Mauro Icardi (Galatasaray, worth €20 million)
Born on 19 February 1993 and part of the La Masia Academy, Icardi's international and club career has not always been marked by controversy.
Icardi left Barcelona in 2011 at the age of 18 to join Sampdoria in Serie A and two seasons later moved to Inter Milan, where he developed into one of the top goalscorers. Icardi isn't particularly physical, he doesn't have much speed, but he is a standard centre-forward and has a great ability to take chances in the box. During his six years at Inter, he scored 124 goals in 219 appearances, provided 29 assists and won the Serie A top scorer twice.
However, Icardi's wife Wanda is not a fuel-efficient lamp, under her demagogy, Icardi only has money in his eyes, in 2019 Icardi transferred to Paris for 50 million euros, but due to injuries and tactical play, Icardi has never been able to play at a high level, and was loaned to Galatasaray in the Turkish Super League in 2022, and bought out this summer. Icardi has been in fine form in the Turkish Super League, scoring 40 goals and providing 14 assists in 51 games so far.
Icardi has not been selected for Argentina since 2018 due to Wanda, and his name is still not included in the latest training camp for Argentina, which means that his hopes of participating in next year's Copa America are slim. In fact, Icardi's pure goalscorer's style of play can greatly enrich the tactics of the Argentine team, I wonder if Scaloni will give him another chance in the future?
Icardi made eight appearances for Argentina, scoring one goal and providing one assist.
The Mesozoic Era is in full swing
3. Lautaro (Inter, worth 100 million euros)
Lautaro Martinez was born on 22 August 1997 and made his debut in the AFL Champions League before moving to Inter Milan in July 2018 for €25 million.
Lautaro is 1.74 meters tall and weighs 72 kilograms, although his absolute speed and strength are not outstanding, but his explosiveness and bounce are good, coupled with his physical strength and good running, he has scored 118 goals and 40 assists in 259 appearances in his five years at Inter, and his form this season is even better, scoring 16 goals and assisting 2 times in 21 games, and he is already the top scorer today.
However, in the Argentine team, Lautaro has been ridiculed by fans for repeatedly missing opportunities, in fact, since making his international debut in March 2018, his efficiency of scoring 21 goals and providing seven assists in 54 games is not inefficient.
Lautaro will still be entrusted with the task of the Argentine team in the future, after all, the 26-year-old top scorer will definitely provide a strong firepower output for the Argentine team once he breaks through the psychological problems.
4. Alvarez (Manchester City, worth 80 million euros)
Born on 31 January 2000, Alvarez is a River Plate academy product who was bought by Manchester City in January 2022 for €21.5 million.
During his time at River Plate, Alvarez scored 43 goals and provided 18 assists in 102 appearances, and after arriving at Manchester City, Alvarez came on more as a substitute for Haaland, but the little spider still handed in 25 goals and 13 assists in 72 games.
Alvarez's physical condition is average, and his abilities are not particularly prominent, but he is very good at playing with his brain, and he runs positively and has a good attitude, and can adapt to multiple positions in midfield, which is a typical one-of-a-kind midfield, and Alvarez has also performed well in the midfield position after De Bruyne's injury this season.
Alvarez was selected for the Argentine national team in 2021 and initially started as a substitute for Lautaro at the World Cup, but got better and better, eventually scoring four goals in seven games and becoming the team's second leading scorer. In the future, Alvarez will continue to be an important member of the Argentine team's front line.
So far, Alvarez has scored seven goals and provided one assist in 28 appearances for Argentina.
5. Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina, worth 35 million euros)
Born on 6 April 1998, Nicolás González is a youth product of the Arab Super League youth team, who moved to Stuttgart in the Bundesliga in 2018 and joined Fiorentina in Serie A for 25 million euros in 2021.
Gonzalez is a thin man but he has great pace and explosiveness, his left foot is skilful and sharp, he can adapt to both flanks, and he has always been full of fighting spirit, scoring 31 goals and providing 16 assists in 99 appearances since joining Fiorentina, and this season's stats are nine goals and two assists in 19 appearances.
Gonzalez is also an important part of Argentina's team, with five goals and three assists in 30 appearances for the national team, and has performed well as a left winger in the absence of Di Maria in this year's South American qualifiers. He will continue to be an important part of Scaloni's side in the future.
The potential of the new generation is limitless
6. Sule (Frosinone, worth 8 million euros)
Born on 15 April 2003, Sule moved to Juventus from Sarsfield Town in January 2020 and began playing for the Juventus first team last season.
This season, Sule has been loaned to Frosinone as a regular right winger, and has been in excellent form with six goals and one assist in 13 Serie A games. Sulai has a thin stature, but he has good skills at his feet, is good at breaking through, and is also very imaginative and penetrating in passing.
Sule, who is only 20 years old, still has a lot of room for growth in the future, and due to his excellent performances this season, Newcastle and other teams are willing to pay 25 million euros for the winter window. Sule has yet to play for Argentina's senior team, but has been a regular at both the Under-20s and Under-16s.
7. Garnacho (Manchester United, worth 25 million euros)
Born on 1 July 2004 and part of Atletico Madrid's academy, Garnacho joined Manchester United's youth team in 2020 and began making senior appearances for the Reds last season.
Garnacho is a right-footed player who plays as a left winger, he has good speed and explosiveness, likes to dribble and break through, and has been riddled by injuries in the United squad this season, and Garnacho has been given a lot of appearances. So far, he has three goals and one assist in 22 appearances, and has also scored a spectacular barb.
At just 19 years old, Garnacho still has a lot of potential, having been called up to the Argentine national team several times and has made three substitute appearances.
U17 stars
Argentina's youth team reached the semi-finals of the U17 World Cup, only to lose to Germany in a penalty shootout and failed to reach the final, and many of the team's youngsters performed well, such as Ruberto, Echeverri, Acuña, López, etc., have attracted the attention of European teams, and over time, these players will also become the pillars of the Argentine team!