Despite having won everything at the international level in every competition they’ve participated in since 2021, people still seem to have doubts about the current Argentina national team. We can chalk a lot of that up to Lionel Messi nearing the age of 39 as the 2026 FIFA World Cup nears.
Argentina have proven capable of being an elite team whether Messi is playing or not. Unfortunately, fans haven’t been able to see the team in action against other strong teams in a long time. The national team’s last four matches, all friendlies, have come against Puerto Rico, Angola, Mauritania and Zambia. That lack of strong competition, plus some concerning performances in two of those games, has Argentina out of the list of World Cup favorites for many.
ESPN ranks Argentina 7th among World Cup national teams, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal ahead
ESPN soccer writer Ryan O’Hanlon is one of those analysts who isn’t completely sold on Argentina at this moment in time. O’Hanlon ranked all 48 teams now that the final list is confirmed. Argentina came in at No. 7, with O’Hanlon wondering, “How much does Lionel Messi still matter for this team?“
In O’Hanlon’s eyes, Messi is still crucial for Argentina’s success depite the team winning without him. But even with him at the World Cup, he sees six teams ahead of them.
- France
- Spain
- England
- Brazil
- Portugal
- Netherlands
When it comes to Portugal, O’Hanlon actually begs the question of whether Cristiano Ronaldo would be “better used off the bench”. Regardless, he has Ronaldo’s squad ahead of Messi’s, while Brazil is surprisingly ahead as well despite finishing well behind Argentina in World Cup qualifying.
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