Argentina’s meeting with Bolivia in Córdoba is more than another World Cup qualifier-style test: it is a first major look at how Lionel Scaloni wants his side to function without Lionel Messi. The clearest sign is in attack, where Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez are set to start together in a 4-4-2 at the Mario Alberto Kempes.
That choice matters because, during the Messi era, Scaloni often had to decide which forward would accompany Messi rather than how two central attackers could work side by side. This is a different problem, and one that points to a new cycle beginning for Argentina. It is also part of a wider question around how settled the team and the coach really are, with the next phase still taking shape.
Scaloni keeps the same identity
Scaloni has made it clear he does not want Argentina to abandon the way they play. Asked about the idea of turning to a more direct approach, he said it was pointless to talk about “transitions rápidas” or “vértigo” because that is not where Argentina’s best football comes from.
His message was simple: the team’s strength is in “juntar pases” and moving together as a unit. He added that the idea is already clear and will not be betrayed, even if the side can adapt to another style when required. In other words, this is not a tactical revolution. It is a new version of the same one built on compact passing and collective movement.
That makes the front two especially interesting. If Argentina are staying with a patient, possession-led structure, then the connection between Álvarez and Martínez becomes central. They are not being asked to stretch the game into something else. They are being asked to make the existing structure work without the most influential player of the Messi era.
The Messi-era question now becomes the post-Messi plan
Matías Manna described Argentina’s identity as a set of ideas that allow a team to dominate through the ball, crowd the middle of the pitch and create superiority there. He spoke about prioritising the short pass, bringing many players close to the ball and using midfield support to lift the players operating as the numbers 10.
He also argued that, in the best matches of the Scaloni era, Argentina have already shown exactly that kind of football. His hope is that the national team never loses that identity and keeps growing through training so that, in 15 or 20 years, the style remains instantly recognisable.
That point fits the current moment well. Argentina are not just replacing one player for one night. They are beginning to define what the team looks like when Lionel Messi is no longer there. Against Bolivia, the first answer is a 4-4-2, with Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez together from the start.
There will be other names involved as well, with players such as Giuliano Simeone and Nicolás González among those mentioned in the wider setup, while Argentina continue to work with a compact structure rather than chasing a more vertical formula. But the biggest headline remains the same: this is the first clear look at the next attacking chapter.
Whether this becomes a permanent blueprint is another matter. Argentina are in the middle of a transition, and even Scaloni’s long-term position is not fully settled. What is settled is the immediate plan for Argentina vs Bolivia: keep the ball, keep the shape and see how the Álvarez-Martínez partnership functions when the team must move on without Messi.
