It is now official: Argentina are going to the 2026 World Cup to defend their title. That much was inevitable, even before this week’s confirmation. But the manner in which Lionel Scaloni's charges beat two of their biggest rivals can only raise hopes that glory could once again be on the horizon just over a year from now.
Tuesday's showing against Brazil, in particular, was as strong a statement of intent as one could wish to envision. Fresh off a grinding 1-0 victory over Uruguay to kick off their international commitments for 2025, Argentina simply ran riot against a pitiful Brazilian team. The final score of 4-1 barely did justice to the frightful beating that the once-formidable Seleçao suffered across 90 one-sided minutes – and all of this without Lionel Messi or Lautaro Martínez, whose absence was barely noted in perhaps the best performance across a single game of the entire Scaloni era (and that is saying a lot).
Accompanied every step of the way by a baying Monumental crowd that revelled in Brazil's misery even more than the hosts' superiority, Argentina wasted no time in taking the initiative. The ever-optimistic Julián Álvarez was rewarded for not giving up on the ball inside the area and powered through to give the Albiceleste the lead within just four minutes.
It was a sucker punch that the visitors never recovered from, as the packed home midfield was given total freedom to control the game and pick off passes at will while continually stretching the Brazil rearguard. Within 12 minutes the lead had grown even further, this time via Enzo Fernández, who found himself in just the right place to finish a delightful collective move that pulled the Seleçao one way and another through 33 passes before delivering the killer blow in the box.
The only relief Brazil got all evening was provided courtesy of the home team. Defender Cristian Romero specifically, who short-circuited long enough in possession for Matheus Cunha to swoop in and score. In another context that could have put nerves on edge, but such was the Argentine domination that the goal barely had an impact.
In any case, the Albiceleste had restored the two-goal margin before Brazil had time to catch their breath, this time via Alexis Mac Allister. The Liverpool midfielder broke through the porous defence and poked past hapless stand-in goalkeeper Bento, given the nod due to Alisson's head injury against Colombia.
But the visitors' humiliation was still not quite complete. During what was a processional second half, Giuliano Simeone popped off the bench to add the fourth and crown a glorious night for Argentina against their fiercest rival. If anything, the three-goal margin of victory flattered Brazil more than the victors, so complete was their capitulation against a team firing on all cylinders. “Poné a Raphinha la puta que te parió” and “Un minuto de silencio...” rang out from the Monumental, goalkeeper Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez started juggling the ball between the posts and fireworks lit up the Núñez sky as the Messi-less Albiceleste let rip with their celebrations at the final whistle... a perfect night for a team that is as close to perfect as the vagaries of international football will allow.
Even with their passage secured, Scaloni refuses to look beyond the coming matches. “I am not thinking about the World Cup, there is a long way to go, lots of things to do and so many things can happen,” he insisted to reporters after the game. “We will go from squad to squad... football can be treacherous, tricky, a liar and you can get eliminated for any number of reasons, but playing like this it hurts a little bit less.”
Playing like this, even against a Brazil team which has a fair claim to be the worst the five-time World Cup winners have ever fielded, the chances of retaining the title in 2026 are very much alive, let alone when Messi recovers and returns to the fold.
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