Argentina’s rebuild without Lionel Messi has an unusual feature built in: it will not be stress-tested in qualifying. As one of three South American co-hosts for the centenary World Cup, Argentina will not go through a qualifying campaign and are already into the 2030 tournament alongside Uruguay and Paraguay.
That removes the obvious crisis valve. There will be no early stumble in a qualifier to accelerate scrutiny on Scaloni’s next generation.
Messi’s international career ended at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires last Tuesday, when Argentina beat Benin 3-0 in a friendly staged as his farewell. Nicolás Otamendi opened the scoring, Nico Paz added a second, and Messi closed out the night from the penalty spot, laying on two assists along the way for his 208th and final cap for the Albiceleste.
“It was a huge source of pride for me to defend this jersey for more than 20 years,” Messi said in his farewell speech.
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“I leave grateful, proud and at peace. Thank you for everything.”
AFA president Claudio Tapia had framed the fixture as a tribute at the squad announcement.
“We invited the best player in the world to play, the icon of our selection, our captain Lionel Andrés Messi, to have a deserved farewell on 6 October, here in Argentina,” Tapia told the AFA.
## Scaloni stays, the aura doesn’t
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Scaloni, who verbally agreed earlier this year to extend his contract until 2031, remains in charge for the entire run to the centenary tournament. His language after the Benin match captured the size of what he now has to work with.
“We can put together a great squad with the new guys coming up, but I’ve never seen that aura in anyone else in my life,” Scaloni said.
“That presence he creates won’t be there anymore. We’ll look for new ways forward, but that feeling will be gone.”
## The next generation
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Julián Álvarez and Enzo Fernández are the senior figures from the 2022 and 2026 World Cup squads expected to carry the leadership load. Nico Paz, who scored on Tuesday, and Real Madrid teenager Franco Mastantuono are among the players picked out as central to Argentina’s 2030 project. Álvarez, who will be 30 at the next tournament, is the clearest candidate to inherit the attacking focal point.
## November is next
Argentina’s next fixtures fall in the November international window between 9 and 17 November, when Scaloni is expected to play two more friendlies to close out 2026. Opponents have not been confirmed.
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