Argentina show they're prepared for life without Lionel Messi in Copa América final

Argentina's 2024 Copa América title made Lionel Scaloni's side the second national team in men's soccer history to win three straight major international tournaments, joining 2008-2012 Spain. Albiceleste's 1-0 extra-time triumph over Colombia in Sunday's Copa América final was made even more impressive because Argentina did so mostly without Lionel Messi, who tearfully exited midway through the second half due to a right ankle injury.

It shows that Argentina is much more than just its legendary captain, as Maurice Edu said on "FOX Soccer NOW."

"To do it with this man on the sideline, to go through this tournament with a Messi not at his best because of injury a Messi only scoring one goal in the [entire tournament], this is where you give credit to the other players that don't wear a No. 10 shirt and have ‘Messi' on the back of the jersey, because in big moments throughout this tournament, they had to step up and make plays," Edu said.

"[Goalkeeper] Emi Martinez, you go back to the penalty kick shootout and his influence on the team. There's so many other players we could list, but Lautaro Martinez gets the goal tonight. … It bodes well for the future"

Whether that future will include the 37-year-old Messi is unclear. He previously implied he would like to continue with the team and has not definitively ruled out playing in the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup, when he will be 39 years old. 

However, it will definitely not include one of Messi's closest friends and longtime running mate on the wings — Ángel Di María, who played his final game for Argentina on Sunday. Young teammates Garnacho and Nicolás González (who replaced Messi when the captain was subbed off Sunday) are waiting for their turn, as "FOX Soccer NOW"'s Jimmy Conrad pointed out. 

But who else steps up with Di Maria now stepping aside, and Messi inevitably set to do the same within the next few years, will have massive roles to fill, "FOX Soccer NOW" co-host Melissa Ortiz alluded to.

"I don't know so much about their age and depth," Ortiz said of Argentina.

Still, she thinks the experience gained by the likes of González and the younger Argentine players spending heavy minutes on the pitch in a tied final without Messi could go a long way as they grow into bigger roles

"I wish we would have seen Messi longer, but things happen for a reason," Ortiz said. "I think that can also build confidence of these players. This is what it looks like when the ‘G.O.A.T.' is at some point soon going to retire, and also what the team looks like without Di María. … I do think that this Argentina team, especially in that midfield, they're still very, very good. Do they have someone like Lionel Messi? No, but remember, — and you can't compare Paulo Dybala to Messi, but you still have people off this roster that didn't make it that I still think that can have potential — and one of those people can even be Dybala."

Edu wonders if there is a middle ground — a scenario where Messi remains on Argentina's roster in the 2026 World Cup, but is not the focal point of the team.

"I will never, ever question this man and what he can bring to a team," Edu said. "But I'm curious, we've seen him now start picking up more injuries.  I hope he doesn't slow down. But if those injuries do start to like limit how many games he could play in a season potentially, or if he can play 90 minutes back-to-back-to-back — bear with me now — would you want to see him at the World Cup in a different role? Is that even possible?"

Both Edu and "FOX Soccer NOW" co-host Wes Morgan think that the circumstances of how Sunday's Copa América final played out — Messi's emotional exit, and Argentina's eventual triumph anyway — could be an incentive for the Inter Miami superstar to keep running it back with his national team for a bit longer. 

"With the World Cup in two years, dangling that little carrot — ‘You can still have that positive influence on the team' — just his presence in and around the the team I'm sure inspires them to go on and do it again," Morgan said.

And that carrot just got a whole lot bigger, because Argentina could now become the first team to win four major international tournaments with a 2026 World Cup triumph.

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