Lautaro Martinez arrives at the World Cup off a Capocannoniere season, healthy and in the best form of his career. Argentina would be wrong not to start him.
Lautaro Martinez should be in Argentina’s starting XI. Not “in contention.” Not “an option.” Starting.
That’s the position I’m taking heading into this World Cup, and the case is straightforward. After a Capocannoniere season, a domestic double, and a goal that moved him level with Diego Maradona on Argentina’s all-time scoring list, Lautaro isn’t just ready for this tournament. He’s arriving in the best form of his career.
The question isn’t whether he deserves to start. It’s whether Scaloni sees it that way too.
The Case Starts With Health
Here’s the difference between this World Cup and the last one. Lautaro is healthy.
Four years ago, he wasn’t quite the player he is now — not unfit exactly, but not the focal point Argentina needed either. This time is different. He’s ready. He’s willing. And he’s coming off a season where he led Serie A in goals with 17 from 30 appearances, despite injury setbacks along the way.
He also sits level with Maradona on 32 international goals, after a qualifying campaign where he was the top scorer at the 2024 Copa America — including the winning goal in the final against Colombia.
Therefore, when healthy, Lautaro gives Argentina what looks like their most complete attacking setup.
Why His Pressing Matters More Than People Realize
Why His Pressing Matters More Than People RealizeHere’s the part of Lautaro’s game that gets undersold in most World Cup previews: his pressing.
Scaloni’s Argentina press aggressively from the front. Every attacker is expected to do it — every attacker, that is, except Messi, who’s given license to conserve energy and pick his moments.
That means the pressing burden falls heavily on the players around him. And Lautaro is one of the best in this entire squad at exactly that job. He hunts the ball relentlessly, closes down passing lanes, and forces mistakes high up the pitch.
Moreover, this isn’t a skill that shows up in highlight reels. It’s a skill that shows up in territory, in turnovers, in the games Argentina control without the ball. Leave Lautaro out, and Argentina lose more than goals. They lose intensity.
The Fair Counterargument: Messi as a False Nine
Now, let’s be fair to the other side of this, because there is one.
Argentina don’t always play with a traditional number nine. Sometimes Messi drops into a false-nine role, and Scaloni adds an extra attacking midfielder instead — Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, or similar profiles get an extra body in that setup.
In that shape, Lautaro becomes the player who makes way. Not because he’s underperforming, but because the system itself doesn’t need a traditional striker.
That’s the strongest argument for managing his minutes — not form, not fitness, but tactical flexibility. Scaloni has more than one way to win, and not all of those ways involve Lautaro starting.
However, here’s my pushback: flexibility is great in theory, but Argentina’s best version of themselves, right now, includes a fit, in-form Lautaro leading the line. Tactical options are useful. They shouldn’t come at the cost of fielding your strongest team.
Why Argentina Need Him More Than in 2022
Why Argentina Need Him More Than in 2022This is the point I think gets missed most often, and it’s the one that should worry rival nations.
In 2022, Lautaro was part of the supporting cast around Messi. In 2026, he arrives as a genuine co-star. Argentina no longer view him as a complementary piece. They need him to share the goalscoring burden.
Messi is older now. His minutes will almost certainly be managed more carefully across a tournament that could mean seven games for Argentina. Meanwhile, Lautaro is arriving in arguably the best form of his entire career.
Therefore, the dynamic has flipped. Argentina don’t need Lautaro to support Messi anymore. They need him to share the scoring burden — and, on nights when Messi’s legs aren’t there, to carry it.
Ultimately, that’s not a smaller role than 2022. It’s a bigger one. And it’s exactly the role his season has earned him.
Why This Matters for Inter — Beyond the Obvious
Most “why this matters for your club” sections focus on form. Fair enough — a Lautaro who’s scoring for Argentina is a Lautaro who’ll likely keep scoring for Inter.
But here’s what I think Inter fans are actually overlooking: the fitness risk.
Lautaro is no longer the young player who could shrug off a deep tournament run with a couple of weeks off. Another summer with little to no break is a real concern — not a minor one.
This summer, specifically, matters more than most. Inter’s squad is undergoing major changes across multiple positions. A serious injury to their captain heading into that kind of reset would be a significant blow — not just for the player, but for the timeline of everything else Inter are trying to build.
So here’s what I’m hoping for, and I think every Inter fan should be hoping for the same thing: not just a successful World Cup for Lautaro, but a healthy one. Those two things aren’t automatically the same.
My Prediction — And What Chivu Should Do With the Gap
My Prediction — And What Chivu Should Do With the GapHere’s where I’ll commit to something specific.
I think Argentina make another deep run — at least the semi-finals. And I think Lautaro plays a major role in that run, whether he’s a guaranteed starter from game one or becomes the player Scaloni leans on more as the tournament progresses.
Meanwhile, back in Italy, there’s an opportunity hiding in plain sight.
Chivu showed flashes of wanting to experiment with different formations last season — but competitive matches are rarely the place to test something new. With Lautaro and Inter’s other senior internationals away for an extended period, pre-season friendlies become exactly that place.
A deep Argentina run costs Inter time with their captain. It shouldn’t cost them momentum.
The Bottom Line
Lautaro Martinez should start for Argentina at this World Cup. He’s healthy, he’s in the best form of his career, and his pressing alone makes Argentina’s strongest XI stronger.
The false-nine flexibility is real — but it shouldn’t override what the season has earned him. And for Inter, the hope isn’t complicated: a deep Argentina run, a starring role for their captain, and a Lautaro who returns to Appiano Gentile healthy enough to pick up exactly where he left off.
If Scaloni starts Messi as a false nine and leaves Lautaro out of the XI for Argentina’s opener, despite his Capocannoniere season — is that the right call, or a mistake?
