{"id":504775,"date":"2026-06-22T02:34:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T02:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/504775\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T02:34:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T02:34:13","slug":"messi-and-argentina-ready-to-turn-up-the-heat-after-fast-world-cup-start-argentina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/504775\/","title":{"rendered":"Messi and Argentina ready to turn up the heat after fast World Cup start | Argentina"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s storybook entrance to the tournament<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Messi will seek the goal that makes him this competition\u2019s leading scorer of all time<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. Dallas is the city where, as he famously told a press conference at the Four Seasons hotel after learning his fate, \u201cthey cut off my legs\u201d.<\/p>\n

The thousands of albiceleste who watch inside Monday\u2019s more modern stage, the mind-bendingly vast home of the Dallas Cowboys, hope Maradona\u2019s successors break into a gallop. A new chant has been doing the rounds among those following them around the US, referring to \u201cthe cup that was stolen from the No 10, the one they did not let us lift\u201d. If Argentina need any extra motivation to dismiss Ralf Rangnick\u2019s side, or indeed to supply Messi with his latest crowning moment, then they can always harness the song\u2019s promises of revenge.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. 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. \u201cIt was really tough starting with that defeat but then the rest of the World Cup was amazing,\u201d said Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez, engaging in a considerably lower-octane audience with the media than Maradona had hosted in 1994. \u201cHaving started with a win it\u2019s very favourable, it helps our confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Argentina supporters rally in Dallas on the eve of their World Cup game against Austria. Photograph: Julio Cortez\/AP<\/p>\n

Scaloni, who has cut a noticeably relaxed figure so far this summer, said the class of 2022 have refused to ease up. \u201cI think we are on good lines,\u201d he said. \u201cThree-and-a-half years have gone but they haven\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the Algeria game, which became etched into the country\u2019s folklore by Messi\u2019s hat-trick<\/a>, Scaloni said his side had shed the mochila \u2013 the backpack \u2013 that burdened them until their night of glory in Lusail<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

What hope, then, for Rangnick? \u201cIf you look at the algorithm it probably says we won\u2019t win,\u201d he said, although the sense persisted that he was deliberately playing Austria\u2019s chances down. \u201cLet\u2019s talk about weaknesses first, because there are none,\u201d he replied when asked to provide an assessment of Argentina. \u201cNothing that we were able to observe.\u201d His team\u2019s 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ralf Rangnick during a press conference at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington. Photograph: Paul Ellis\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously they have the greatest player of all time in their team,\u201d Rangnick said, proceeding to note that Messi\u2019s propensity to lurk, rather than harry, adds to his threat. \u201cWe need to show the best performance we have made under my tenure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u201cHand of God\u201d<\/a> or, for those who prefer it, Maradona\u2019s bewitching solo goal against England<\/a>. \u201cMaybe we will see it everywhere tomorrow and maybe we will cry a little too,\u201d said Scaloni, who was referring to the latter and recalled watching it at his grandmother\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, when he turned 39 on Wednesday. \u201cMy wish is for him to be happy,\u201d he said. Messi and Argentina, both in radiant form, aim to continue bringing the joy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How do you build on perfection? It is the poser Argentina face before a match that, for all…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-504775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}