Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni has reportedly decided to partner attacker Julian Alvarez with captain Lionel Messi up front for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final tonight (July 19) against Spain in New Jersey.
Alvarez, 26, also started the 2-1 come-from-behind semi-final win over England in the semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday (July 15) and played the entire 120 minutes of the 3-1 quarter-final win over 10-man Switzerland.
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The Atletico Madrid man has had a lean campaign, with his only goal in seven games coming in the victory over Switzerland. Nevertheless, head coach Scaloni has opted to partner Alvarez with Messi against a La Roja side looking to win their second FIFA World Cup title in as many finals, as per Argentine sports journalist Gaston Edul.
Alvarez had also started the final win on penalties over France at Qatar 2022, where Messi scored a brace and won the Golden Ball. Earlier, the then Manchester City forward had a hand in all three goals in the 3-0 semi-final win over 2018 finalists Croatia, scoring twice and assisting the other.
Lionel Messi, meanwhile, is set to play his third straight FIFA World Cup final – winning one – and become the oldest outfield player to grace the big game. The 39-year-old has scored or assisted in his last 11 matches in the competition – a World Cup record – scoring in the first nine.
What Argentina captain Lionel Messi needs to do against Spain in FIFA World Cup final to win the Golden Boot
Argentina captain Lionel Messi is in the reckoning to win his maiden FIFA World Cup Golden Boot when the Albiceleste take on European champions Spain in the title match tonight in New Jersey.
Going into the big game, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner trails Frenchman Kylian Mbappe in the Golden Boot race, with the Real Madrid striker having netted 10 times – two more than Messi – with both men registering four assists.
If the plays the full 90 minutes (or 120), Messi will need to score twice and provide an assist or net three times against Spain to deny Mbappe from becoming the first player to win the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot twice.
While Mbappe is averaging a goal every 69.9 minutes, Lionel Messi has done so in 77.6 minutes. That means if Messi scores twice in 56 minutes and comes off, he will overtake the Frenchman in goals per minute – the tiebreaker used if two or more players have the same goals and assists.
Edited by Bhargav
