The Greatest Show on Earth has come to the very end. Lionel Messi’s Argentina became the first team to qualify for the final after defeating Croatia 3-0 in the first semi-final of the World Cup. Now, fans are dreaming of seeing the trophy in Lionel Messi’s hand. The Qatar World Cup might be Lionel Messi’s last appearance in the tournament. Can Messi lift the trophy for Argentina after 36 years? Can Argentina win the 2022 Football World Cup?

Argentina’s Chances and Potentials to Win the World Cup

Argentina has reached another World Cup final after eight years. After winning Copa America in 2021 under Lionel Scaloni, Argentina started dreaming of winning the World Cup. But this dream once sounded like a struggle.

After losing to Saudi Arabia in the first match, many experts reminded Argentina of what happened to them in the 2002 World Cup in Asia. But, it seems Scaloni has learned from the past, which is proved by their performance in the last 5 matches of this World Cup. And apparently that the loss against Saudi Arabia has opened their eyes.

After that, Argentina won over Mexico, Poland, Australia, Netherlands, and Croatia. Now they are facing the toughest team of this World Cup, France, who are having an incredible pace with some of the best players such as Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, and Aurélien Tchouaméni. They will be a real obstacle to Argentina’s win.

However, Argentina has a very strong and talented team, and their recent performance has been consistent too. This year Argentina has played 16 international matches, including the World Cup. And Argentina has not lost any matches except for Saudi Arab’s upset. That being said, Argentina has been very consistent throughout the year and seems to win the World Cup at any cost.

Additionally, After 11 months of Argentina’s Copa America winning, they also won the intercontinental supremacy battle, ‘La Finalissima’, against the Euro winners Italy. After that, Argentina’s 2022 World Cup dream gained more strength. Argentina is now one of the biggest favorites.

Considering the opponent, France’s current pace and record, Argentina’s chance of winning the World Cup becomes low. But an incredible performance from some players such as Messi and Emiliano Martínez will surely increase Argentina’s Chances.

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Which Players May Increase Argentina’s Chance of Winning?

Argentina has been dependent on Messi throughout the last decade. But this year, the team has reduced its dependency on Messi. And there are other players who can impact Argentina’s overall performance. But no one can ignore Messi. His presence gives the ultimate strength to the team.

However, Messi could not fulfill his dream in the previous four World Cups. This year Messi seems to be unstoppable. This football magician has been creating records throughout the tournament. Sometimes broke the late football legends Diego Maradona or Gabriel Batista’s records and sometimes jumped into their records. With his extraordinary performance, Messi won four man-of-the-match awards in this tournament. So, it will be difficult for Argentina to win if France stops Messi.

Apart from Messi, if one player can help Argentina, he is the goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. From COPA to the World Cup, Martinez has proved his class. He has played 24 matches for the national team so far. He has been playing regularly since the beginning of this World Cup.

But in the quarterfinal, He introduced himself more aesthetically, as he stopped the Netherlands in the quarterfinal. Power, perfect movement, impeccable skill, balance, and excellent diving are the qualities that a good goalkeeper should possess, and Emi has all of these qualities. Experts say the presence of these qualities or materials in Martinez is excellent. Argentina now has 100% on him.

Now experts are also reminding Argentina’s former goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea. Argentina’s Goycochea was the talk of the town in the 1990s, just as Martinez was about guarding Argentina’s goalpost.

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Final Words

Argentina is always on the list of favorites in the World Cup, and having Lionel Messi in the team boosts their chances. After winning the World Cup in 1978 and 1986, Argentina played the finals in 1990 and 2014. This time, Argentina has lit the expectations based on Messi. 

Yet a dismal performance in the 2018 World Cup and then a shaky Argentina in the first one and half years under Lionel Scaloni did not have any hope as ‘hot favorites for the World Cup. But everything changed when Argentina won the 2021 Copa America. Now, Argentina is one match away from proving themselves.