Lautaro Martínez or Julián Álvarez? Scaloni weighs Messi's strike partner for Cape Verde clash

With Argentina heading into the knockout stages of the 2026 World Cup, Lionel Scaloni faces a familiar selection dilemma: who should partner Lionel Messi in attack?

The identity of Argentina's centre-forward remains the biggest question mark ahead of Friday's last-16 meeting with Cape Verde in Miami.

Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martínez started all three group-stage victories ahead of Julián Álvarez, who has yet to show in North America why he remains one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe.

The Atlético Madrid forward finished the group stage without a goal or an assist across 143 minutes against Algeria, Austria and Jordan.

'La Araña' is also well adrift in the race for the tournament's Golden Boot, where Messi sits joint top alongside France's Kylian Mbappé with six goals each.

Four years ago, shortly after completing his move from River Plate to Manchester City, Álvarez finished as the third-highest scorer at the Qatar World Cup, netting four times in five starts, including a brace against Croatia in the semi-finals.

He arrived in North America after a month on the sidelines with an ankle injury and made his only start against Jordan, when Scaloni fielded both centre-forwards together and left Messi on the bench from the outset.

Neither striker particularly impressed, although Lautaro emerged with the greater reward after finally ending his World Cup goal drought. The Inter captain converted a penalty to score his first goal in nine World Cup appearances.

"We have no doubts about either Lautaro or Julián," Scaloni said after the match.

"Goals are always welcome, but they both do an incredible amount of work. Lautaro has been outstanding, regardless of whether he scores or not. If they score, even better for the team and for them, but we're very happy."

Barcelona enter the picture

'El Toro,' Argentina's fourth-highest all-time goalscorer with 38 goals, has compensated for the advantages Álvarez normally offers through his movement and understanding with Messi by delivering relentless work rate and selfless performances.

But while Álvarez has struggled to make an impact on the pitch, the 26-year-old has become one of the biggest names in this summer's transfer window.

His explosive comments after the win over Austria, in which he publicly requested a move away from Atlético Madrid, officially sparked one of Spain's biggest transfer sagas.

Atlético have so far resisted offers for their star striker, having reportedly rejected a 150-million-euro (around US$170 million) bid from city rivals Real Madrid last month.

That approach reportedly stemmed from an election pledge by Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez before the club turned its attention elsewhere.

Barcelona are now widely viewed as the club pushing hardest for Álvarez. Club president Joan Laporta confirmed on Wednesday that Barcelona had submitted an offer to Atlético.

"The player wants to come," Laporta said, as Barcelona search for a long-term successor to Robert Lewandowski.

Laporta added that Barcelona maintain "good institutional relations" with Atlético despite reports the Madrid club could file a complaint with FIFA over the transfer.

Amid the off-field uncertainty, Álvarez will hope to regain Scaloni's confidence as the Argentina coach also considers two further changes before the knockout tie.

Nicolás Tagliafico and Facundo Medina are competing for the left-back position, while Cristian 'Cuti' Romero could return to the heart of Argentina's defence if he fully recovers from the right knee injury that ruled him out of the group-stage win over Algeria.

– TIMES/AFP

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