Days after being defeated 1-0 by Argentina in the 2024 Copa America final in Miami, Colombia defender Davinson Sanchez revealed what he believed had been the difference in the hotly contested match.
Speaking to D Sports in Colombia, Sanchez said that Lionel Messi’s exit in the 66th minute due to injury had essentially made Argentina stronger.
“Messi’s exit was key because (Nicolas Gonzalez) came in with a bit more physical endurance,” said Sanchez. “At that moment, they took away our momentum because we were playing a very good game on the right side… the game became more balanced. They didn’t dominate us, but it became more even.”
Is he right? Could Argentina really play better without Messi, arguably the greatest player of all time? The current world champions and back-to-back Copa America victors have been subtly planning for life without the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, who turned 37 in June. He was recalled on Wednesday and will feature for Argentina in upcoming qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia on October 10 and October 15.
Messi has only recently returned to the pitch with Inter Miami after the ankle sprain he suffered in the final against Colombia. His lack of match fitness meant that the Argentina captain was left out of Lionel Scaloni’s squad for two September World Cup qualifiers against Chile in Buenos Aires and away to Colombia in Barranquilla.
Those two matches provided a new opportunity to envision how Argentina will change tactically without two of their all-time greatest players — as well as missing Messi, Angel Di Maria announced his retirement from international football over the summer. It was a challenge and situation that felt foreign to the Albiceleste.
“They are irreplaceable players,” Scaloni said during a recent interview with Argentine journalist Juan Pablo Varsky. “It’s impossible to replace them. They’re unique players. In the case of Di Maria who will no longer be part of the team, it’s not logical to try and find a player who does the same things as him.”
Juventus winger Nicolas Gonzalez started both games against Chile and Argentina in Di Maria’s place. The pacey 26-year-old has been one of Scaloni’s jack-of-all-trades selections. He can play on either wing (like Di Maria) and has also been called upon to step up and replace Messi. An unenviable, perhaps impossible task.
Nicolas Gonzalez against Colombia (Andres Rot/Getty Images)
But over the past year, as Messi dealt with injuries, Scaloni said that it is not new personnel that will compensate for Messi’s absence, but rather Argentina’s set tactical identity. “It’s difficult for any team to not be dependent on Leo,” Scaloni told Varsky. “Any team that he’s on will depend a lot on him. He’s a unique player. It’s logical.
“The strength of this team is that we have a style of play that doesn’t change based on who’s on the field. The players can rotate but they all play based on the same idea. That’s helpful when Leo isn’t here. What’s missing is that final touch that he has, but the team’s quality and how the team plays doesn’t change.”
Even with Messi as a central figure, Scaloni’s initial tactical approach with Argentina in 2018 and 2019 was to reach the opponent’s goal as quickly as possible. The emergence of technically gifted players in midfield saw Scaloni turn Argentina into a ball-dominant team in possession that has mastered the art of game management. They impose their will on opponents via well-coordinated midfield counter-pressing and precision passing, with Messi typically positioned as a second striker with the responsibilities of a No. 10. More than Messi, however, it is that pressing, technically comfortable and versatile midfield which has defined Argentina during Scaloni’s tenure.
“(Our midfielders) are used to moving into spaces that other traditional midfielders may not be comfortable in,” Scaloni told Varsky. “They can play in between the lines and they know that in today’s game you have to have two or three different roles. Most importantly, they’re not afraid of the ball. They all want to be on the ball.”
Rodrigo De Paul is one of those versatile midfield players who takes on more responsibility when Messi is out. The Atletico Madrid midfielder has become globally recognized for his high work rate and defensive awareness. He was, however, an attacking midfielder in the early part of his career at Racing in Argentina.
Against Chile, De Paul was quite literally all over the pitch. He defended like his life depended on it, and when Argentina held possession, he moved into a No. 10 role, occupying spaces typically reserved for Messi.
That strategy wasn’t effective in the first half, which ended 0-0. De Paul found the ball in goal-dangerous positions, but couldn’t deliver the final ball. Without Messi, Scaloni played with two center forwards in Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez. The hard-pressing Alvarez functioned as a false nine at times, and while Alvarez is capable in that role, the movement off the ball was managed well by the Chileans.
Overall, there was a lack of creativity in the final third. Argentina were polished on the ball, but Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, a creative engine in midfield, was a non-factor. Argentina sent six ponderous crosses in the first half and De Paul’s set-piece delivery didn’t match Messi’s abilities.
In the second half they pressed higher and more aggressively. They widened the field, too. With Messi actively seeking touches in the middle of the park, Argentina tend to be a much more narrow team.
Without him, they made the pitch bigger and reached Chile’s penalty area as quickly as possible. Play went through Mac Allister and De Paul retreated slightly into his more natural box-to-box role.
Substitute Paulo Dybala was given Messi’s No. 10 shirt, but it’s Mac Allister who could be the heir apparent. When Argentina opened the scoresheet two minutes into the second half it was through a well-worked goal that saw Mac Allister finish first time a la Messi. The match ended 3-0 to Argentina.
Five days later in the midday heat of Barranquilla, Scaloni swapped Mac Allister for Leandro Paredes who played centrally alongside Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez. De Paul was again free to roam and often found himself in a prime attacking position at the top of Colombia’s penalty area (where we often see Messi). He also initiated several of Argentina’s counterattacks, along with Alvarez, but unfortunately for Argentina, those chances were wasted.
Argentina’s lone goal came from James Rodriguez’s errant pass that Nicolas Gonzalez pounced on and finished three minutes into the second half. Throughout the match, Argentina defenders Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi sought to bypass Colombia’s midfield trio and play directly to their two strikers.
It appeared that Argentina’s two center forwards had a lot more work to do without Messi on the pitch. They pressed Colombia’s back line, dropped into midfield and were asked to cover more ground than usual.
Argentina won the possession battle by a slight margin as Colombia pulled back after a Rodriguez penalty gave the hosts a 2-1 lead in the 60th minute. Mac Allister eventually came on but without creativity and cunning play of Messi, Scaloni was forced to improvise in the attack.
He brought attacking left fullback Marcos Acuña in the 64th minute in place of Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez. Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez, who functioned as the false nine, would float out to the left and create a three-man overload with Acuña and Gonzalez.
It was a problem for Colombia, but Argentina could not capitalize. An exhausted Argentina suffered their second loss in the current World Cup qualifying cycle, and just their seventh defeat in 79 matches under Scaloni. Argentina remains atop the CONMEBOL qualifying table and hope for Messi to return for their October fixtures against Venezuela and Bolivia.
Nevertheless, their last two matches provided a glimpse at how Argentina’s tactical identity will change in the post-Messi era. Perhaps it’ll become a hybrid between Scaloni’s initial approach and today’s philosophy. Possession will remain a fundamental part of Argentina’s play style. What will change is how quick and how direct they’ll become without their talismanic No. 10.
GO DEEPER
On the ground: Colombia’s burning modern rivalry with World Cup champion Argentina
(Top photo: Lionel Scaloni; by Buda Mendes via Getty Images)