Lionel Messi will be a notable absence for Argentina in the March international break. The reigning world champions will play El Salvador in Philadelphia on Friday before they travel to Los Angeles to face Costa Rica on Tuesday.
Coach Lionel Scaloni seems to already have in mind how to line up without the Inter Miami star and even who could be the penalty taker, but what many fonds are wondering is whether we’ll see another player wearing the iconic No. 10 shirt.
While this number is usually reserved for the 36-year-old, Argentina have seen other players with that jersey at certain matches without Messi. Angel Correa, for instance, got to don it in a World Cup Qualifier against Ecuador in 2016. But he wasn’t called up this time.
Angel Di Maria also wore the No. 10 in a friendly against Brazil in 2015, with Messi not taking part in that match. The Benfica star is part of the squad for the upcoming friendlies, but he chose to keep the No. 11 last time Messi was out. So let’s take a look at other candidates.
Alexis Mac Allister
A pivotal member of the Argentine national team, Alexis Mac Allister already wears the No. 10 shirt at Liverpool. With this mind in addition to his playmaking abilities, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him inherit Messi’s number this month.
Mac Allister warms up before a Liverpool game.
Lautaro Martinez
Lautaro Martinez has been Inter Milan‘s No. 10 for a while now, so it’s safe to say he has the profile to don the number at the national team. But the No. 22 became quite iconic for him on the international stage, so we’ll have to wait and see.
Lautaro shows off his No. 10 at Inter Milan.
Nicolas Gonzalez also wears the No. 10 at Fiorentina, while other players on the squad wore that shirt at some point in their careers as well. But it’s also possible that the number remains untaken this month if Argentina prefer to save it for the moment Messi comes back.
