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How do you build on perfection? It is the poser Argentina face before a match that, for all its prosaic appearance in the middle of a bloated group stage, may prove critical to their World Cup defence. Lionel Messi’s storybook entrance to the tournament set a near-impossibly high bar for football romantics; Austria may provide a sterner test than Algeria and perhaps progress, in this case, will simply be defined by getting the job done.
Messi will seek the goal that makes him this competition’s leading scorer of all time, a milestone he should reach in comfort over the coming days or weeks. The collective aim is clear enough, too. Argentina would rather not entertain finishing second in Group J, which would probably mean gritting their teeth for a last-32 meeting with Spain. Overcoming a ferocious, flawed Austria is the best way to postpone that level of test; Dallas, famed for its heady barbecue scene, is the perfect venue for an asado-loving nation to turn up the heat.
It is also a poignant location at which to make a mark. Twenty miles to the east of AT&T Stadium lies the enormous, storied Cotton Bowl. That was where Diego Maradona, about to be thrown out of USA 94 for ephedrine doping, played his final game for Argentina. Dallas is the city where, as he famously told a press conference at the Four Seasons hotel after learning his fate, “they cut off my legs”.
The thousands of albiceleste who watch inside Monday’s more modern stage, the mind-bendingly vast home of the Dallas Cowboys, hope Maradona’s successors break into a gallop. A new chant has been doing the rounds among those following them around the US, referring to “the cup that was stolen from the No 10, the one they did not let us lift”. If Argentina need any extra motivation to dismiss Ralf Rangnick’s side, or indeed to supply Messi with his latest crowning moment, then they can always harness the song’s promises of revenge.
Not that further incentives should be required. Argentina can enjoy a far brighter picture than at this point in Qatar, when they needed to smartly repair damage caused by defeat to Saudi Arabia. Back then they gave truth to the adage that a team rarely finishes a tournament as it began; now they are tasked with resoundingly disproving it. “It was really tough starting with that defeat but then the rest of the World Cup was amazing,” said Enzo Fernández, engaging in a considerably lower-octane audience with the media than Maradona had hosted in 1994. “Having started with a win it’s very favourable, it helps our confidence.”
Scaloni, who has cut a noticeably relaxed figure so far this summer, said the class of 2022 have refused to ease up. “I think we are on good lines,” he said. “Three-and-a-half years have gone but they haven’t let themselves go, they always want to improve. They still have a high level of intensity, there is always room for improvement and they have understood the message really well.”
Before the Algeria game, which became etched into the country’s folklore by Messi’s hat-trick, Scaloni said his side had shed the mochila – the backpack – that burdened them until their night of glory in Lusail. A pressure valve has been released: Argentina and Messi can operate with an inner calm that simply was not present in those attritional early games last time around.
What hope, then, for Rangnick? “If you look at the algorithm it probably says we won’t win,” he said, although the sense persisted that he was deliberately playing Austria’s chances down. “Let’s talk about weaknesses first, because there are none,” he replied when asked to provide an assessment of Argentina. “Nothing that we were able to observe.” His team’s intense pressing, referenced more than once by a respectful Scaloni, will need to be perfect if the reigning champions, more rhythmic and possession-based, are not to pick holes. Jordan caused Austria intermittent difficulties in San Francisco.
“Obviously they have the greatest player of all time in their team,” Rangnick said, proceeding to note that Messi’s propensity to lurk, rather than harry, adds to his threat. “We need to show the best performance we have made under my tenure.”
Perhaps they will also have to rely on any Argentinian missteps. There is always the outside chance emotion gets in the way. If the symbolism of Dallas was not enough, Monday is the 40th anniversary of the “Hand of God” or, for those who prefer it, Maradona’s bewitching solo goal against England. “Maybe we will see it everywhere tomorrow and maybe we will cry a little too,” said Scaloni, who was referring to the latter and recalled watching it at his grandmother’s house.
The scene is set for Messi to imbue the date with fresh significance. Scaloni was asked what he would wish for his captain, who is competing here while his father, Jorge, undergoes medical treatment, when he turned 39 on Wednesday. “My wish is for him to be happy,” he said. Messi and Argentina, both in radiant form, aim to continue bringing the joy.
