Lionel Messi, the greatest player in football currently, has had a great international career and hopes to play his last world cup this year with the expectations of winning it. However, Argentina’s recent few matches were played without him as he had tested positive for Covid after the New Year and was resting and practicing for his club Paris Saint Germain.
The Argentinian has had a bad season so far at PSG but that can be accounted for by citing the adjustment period and the poor management at the club with too many stars in Di Maria, Neymar, Mbappe, Ramos, Veratti and now Messi.
Argentina’s track record with Messi started improving significantly in the recent decade and resulted in a Copa America, Messi’s first trophy with his country. However without Messi, Argentina have been an easy team to gamble against.
Since the debut of the left footed GOAT, Argentina have won 115 of their 158 matches boasting a 72.78% win percentage. However, without Messi, they’ve managed to win only 30 matches out of 50+ matches played. The record isn’t that bad, but when you consider the fact that most of those wins came earlier on when there were other great forwards available in Kun Aguero it seems like a point of worry.
With Angel di Maria not in the same form he used to be, it remains to be seen who will take over when Messi retires from international football. However the young generation in Martinez and Ocampos seem to be getting ready to play more games for Argentina than ever before.