Following the cancellation of the Finalissima against Spain, Lionel Scaloni’s team could make history ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
Argentina, which will defend the title it won in Qatar on December 18, 2022, will enter this year’s tournament without having faced any European opponents throughout the World Cup cycle.
Argentina’s Unprecedented Situation
March 27 could have marked the first matchup between Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi at Lusail Stadium in Doha, but the conflict in the Middle East forced a change in the venue.
After the AFA and CONMEBOL failed to reach an agreement with the Royal Spanish Football Federation and UEFA, the decision was made to cancel the match that would have pitted the 2024 Copa América champions against the 2024 Euro champions. Added to this cancellation is the friendly against Qatar to round out the FIFA window, which had already been scrapped following the conflict in the Middle East.
This not only deprived Lionel Messi and his teammates of the chance to add a new title in the event of a victory (the 47th for #10), but also poses a major challenge for Lionel Scaloni, as it leaves the team without any friendlies against European national teams in their World Cup preparations.
Thus, unless an unexpected match arises in the coming months, Messi and company will head into the 2026 World Cup without having faced European teams in four years, something no squad in the history of the Albiceleste has ever experienced, according to TyC Sports.
The contrast with other World Cup cycles is striking. Before Qatar 2022, Argentina faced Germany (2-2 in 2019), Italy (3-0 in the 2022 Finalissima), and Estonia (5-0 in 2022).
The edition in which the Albiceleste faced the fewest European rivals was in 1934, where they played only against Yugoslavia and, on the contrary, in the lead-up to the 1982 World Cup in Spain they faced a total of 22 teams, the highest number in Argentina’s history.
With the tournament drawing ever closer, all that remains is to wait and see whether Lionel Messi and his teammates will defend their title with warm-up matches or not.
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