Argentina confirmed its lineup for the World Cup final against Spain on the day of the match, and Lionel Scaloni’s first big call was to change the right side of the back line. Gonzalo Montiel starts instead of Molina after Molina’s serious mistake in the semifinal, while Leandro Paredes is left out of the starting XI.
The selection also settles the front line question. Julián Álvarez is ahead of Lautaro Martínez as the mobile striker, a choice that favors movement and pressure over a more fixed penalty-area reference. Giuliano Simeone, who was tried in the semifinal, does not keep his place after that experiment failed to hold. Scaloni is not chasing novelty for its own sake. He is tightening the team around the roles that have carried Argentina this far.
That search for control comes after a World Cup run built more on survival than dominance. Argentina needed the final minutes of extra time to get past Cabo Verde, came back from 0-2 against Egypt, beat Switzerland in extra time, and overturned a 1-0 deficit against England in stoppage time. The pattern has repeated often enough to define the team: not the cleanest path, but the one that keeps ending with Argentina still alive.
Messi remains the reason the attack still bends around Argentina. At 39, he has 8 goals and 4 assists in the tournament, and only Michael Olise has one more assist. That output explains why Scaloni keeps building around him, while the rest of the side is arranged to reduce risk and win the spaces around him. It also fits the final’s logic: one player can decide the game, but only if the structure behind him holds.
That is where the defensive choices matter. Emiliano Martínez still anchors a trusted back line, and Montiel’s return suggests Scaloni wants a safer, more disciplined right side after the semifinal wobble. Paredes’ omission points in the same direction. If Argentina are going to finish this tournament by lifting the World Cup, they will do it with fewer experiments and more certainty in the positions where one mistake can end the night.
