Although Argentina knew that it would happen one day, they must now plan for life without Lionel Messi after he announced his retirement from international football at the age of 39.
In some ways he is irreplaceable. Players like Messi come along once in a generation, if that, and Argentina have been fortunate to have had two in living memory, the other being Diego Maradona.
Argentina must therefore resist the temptation to search for another player capable of doing everything Messi did. Even if such a player existed, the burden of expectation placed on his shoulders would likely crush him.
The immediate challenge is instead to distribute Messi’s responsibilities throughout the team.
Julián Álvarez is the obvious candidate to become the focal point of the attack. He will be 30 by the 2030 World Cup and should be approaching the tournament at something close to his peak. He does not possess Messi’s extraordinary creative ability, but he offers goals, movement and experience at the highest level.
Argentina also have an established midfield around which to build. Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister should remain central figures, while Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez provide experience further back.
Nico Paz is one possibility, while Franco Mastantuono represents another enormously talented prospect. Alejandro Garnacho, Matías Soulé and Claudio Echeverri provide further evidence that Argentina are hardly suffering from a shortage of gifted attacking players.
What they do not have is another Messi.
It would also be easy to forget that Messi was not always loved by Argentina fans because they had never seen him play before he headed to Europe and Barcelona whilst still in his early teens.
Indeed, whilst they went through a series of near-misses with him in the side in major tournaments he was often criticised to the extent that he briefly quit international football in 2016, before changing his mind.
This does not mean that Argentina will no longer be successful. But without their talisman who has helped dig them out of many holes over the years, they must now find another way to win.
