Argentina's No. 9s Woke Up at Exactly the Right Time — and England Is Next
Through five games, Argentina's strikers combined for one goal. Then the knockouts arrived — and everything changed. The Albiceleste are no longer just Messi.
For five games, Argentina were essentially a one-man team. Lautaro Martínez and Julián Álvarez combined for a single goal between them — from the penalty spot, no less. Messi carried, Messi solved, Messi was Argentina's entire World Cup.
Then the knockouts arrived. And the No. 9s finally showed up.
Against Egypt, deep into stoppage time, Álvarez won the ball inside the area and released Lautaro on a counter-attack. The centre-forward drove down the right and cut it back perfectly for Enzo Fernández to head home. It wasn't Lautaro's goal, but it was his move. The flick of a switch.
The real statement came against Switzerland in the quarter-finals. With the score locked at 1–1 and extra time dragging on, Julián Álvarez received a pass from Flaco López, held his position just outside the box and curled a shot into the top corner that left the goalkeeper with no chance. A stunning strike. Argentina into the semi-finals.
The next opponent is England — one of the most charged rivalries in World Cup history. And for the first time in this tournament, the Albiceleste arrive with more than one genuine attacking threat.
Golmetria's model sees Argentina as the second-strongest side remaining, with a 22.88% chance of lifting the trophy. The market, according to available data, is far more sceptical — an implied probability of just 7.49%. A divergence that tells its own story: anyone who has watched Lautaro and Álvarez over the past few weeks will understand the model's optimism.
Messi is still Messi. But the Argentina that faces England no longer needs to rely on him alone. And for their opponents, that is the most frightening statistic of all.