Argentina national team will get glimpse of Messi-less future in World Cup match vs. Jordan

Jon Arnold, USA TODAYSat, June 27, 2026 at 6:01 PM UTC

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ARLINGTON, TX — The terrifying future for the Argentina national team is not here yet, but it will be soon.

Lionel Messi will retire from international soccer - likely after this World Cup. Even if he changes course and gives it another go for one more Copa América, or even plays the opening World Cup match in Buenos Aires in 2030, he will retire from soccer altogether not long from now.

Against Jordan in the final World Cup group match, Argentina will willingly look into that void, giving Messi rest for the majority of the game. That's because whatever happens on the scoreboard, the Albiceleste know they are headed to Miami as group winners and will play Cape Verde.

"We’re very competitive players, and we’ve got to adapt ourselves. I think one of the characteristics we have is we’re a team that adapts to situations," fullback Nicolas Tagliafico said Friday. "I think the national team understands very well that not everything is linear, it’s not a straight line."

With a team built around Messi for as long as Argentina has been, it's a radical shift. It's not that Messi has played every Argentina game since he made his first senior appearance in 2005, but he has been in the vast majority. Understandably, given his talents, the team has long been built around him and what he can do.

That remains true even after his 39th birthday, celebrated this week. Messi has been the focal point for Argentina in group matches against Algeria and Austria, scoring all five of the country's goals so far in the World Cup.

So, once Messi hangs up his boots or simply announces he is done with the grind of playing for the national team, what comes next?

Who is 'the next Messi' for the Argentina national team?

The label of "the next Messi" has been slapped onto dozens of players. It has typically caused them to either crater under the pressure or simply never reach the impossible standard set by the former Barcelona and PSG star.

Yet, there is a Spain-educated, left-footed creative Argentine coming through the ranks who is expected to start Saturday. Now playing with Como under the tutelage of manager Cesc Fabregas, Nico Paz is the son of former Argentina player Pablo, a veteran of the 1998 World Cup.

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Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has been hesitant to heap expectations onto Paz, but despite clearly being a different player and person than Messi, he can be a like-for-like replacement.

Even so, Scaloni's team Saturday may look more like a 4-3-1-2 than it does when Messi is on the field, floating in from the wing and sometimes attacking centrally but other times pushing the team forward wide before cutting inside.

That won't be because of Paz doing something different but because forwards Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martínez may start together, giving Paz a pair of options in front rather than the one point Messi typically has to play off of as he comes into the middle.

How the two forwards can interchange and communicate will go a long way toward understanding if Argentina's path forward in life after Messi is simply modifying the playing style, or undergoing a complete overhaul.

Another "next Messi" candidate, Thiago Almada, has been effective on the left. His game isn't as visually similar to Messi's as what Paz does, but after his development seemed to stall, he has again spurted forward with a tremendous number of chances created from the left side.

Scaloni could put Almada and Paz on either side of Alvarez (or Martínez) in the future, but he probably won't try that until he's seen how the two forwards work - and what Paz can do with the spotlight on him in a senior World Cup match.

Will the rest of the Argentina national team still work without Messi?

Questions about Argentina's post-Messi plans obviously focus up front where Messi works his magic. But there are question marks in defense as well, even if 33-year-old goalkeeper Dibu Martinez is in form to go through 2030 if he'd like.

There will be less of a preview there at this World Cup, with the youngest "true" defender on Scaloni's roster already 27 years old. Valentin Barco, who is 21, can play as a fullback or wingback and there is talk that 23-year-old winger Giuliano Simeone may also retreat to right back for Argentina.

With respect to the 28-year-old center backs Lisandro Martínez and Cristian Romero, you can find more center backs. You can't find another Messi.

That is the reality Argentina knows it is looking at as it peers into the future, and one it hopes will look far less scary after a big win spearheaded by reserves Saturday night.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Argentina will get preview of life without Leo Messi in World Cup match

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