EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- There's a sense of inevitably that follows Argentina, a team that leaves little room for doubt that they will eventually come out of their next game with a victory. That level of superiority was nearly called into question on Tuesday at MetLife Stadium, not necessarily because La Albiceleste had done anything wrong. The one thing you could count on a team with a deep pool of attacking talent to do is score goals, and after 88 minutes and 20 shots, the long-awaited first goal of the match had yet to come.
Then Lautaro Martinez scored.
The penalty area was crowded as Argentina tried to score following Lionel Messi's corner kick, the ball first landing to Cristian Romero before Chile's Claudio Bravo made a quick save. The ball went straight back into play, hitting one of Bravo's teammates before accidentally landing at Martinez's feet. It was a simple finish from close range for the 26-year-old, who clinched a 1-0 win over Chile and ensured the reigning Copa America champions would return to the knockouts.
Martinez is, so far, the surprise star of Argentina's Copa America campaign with two goals off the bench at this early stage of the tournament. His productivity marks a continuation of his golden boot-winning season in Serie A, where he scored 27 goals as Inter won back-to-back titles. It has been a long time coming for him, though -- he was dropped from Argentina's lineup following their 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup, two months into his 19-month scoreless run in a national team shirt. He now has five goals in his last five games, three of them coming in substitute appearances.
His success is emblematic of Argentina's ability to successfully carry the weight of expectations, three years after winning the Copa America and a year and a half removed from their World Cup triumph. The team has a healthy blend of multigenerational talent in attack, ranging from 37-year-old Messi to 19-year-old Alejandro Garnacho, each of them who have embraced their roles. Martinez may have been relegated to the bench but his stock is officially on the rise, emblematic of a team-focused mindset that leads to strong individual performances. That came in handy against Chile, who were not just absorbing Argentina's constant attacks but creating a physical game state that the reigning champions had to survive.
"I think it is fair to have the players that did not add minutes get onto the pitch but I think our team always has that attitude," head coach Lionel Scaloni said post match. "When a match gets tougher and tougher, they don't back down and that is always guaranteed. I am the one that thinks that if the match gets more physical, we have to stick to the football but I think the team has that as an inherent trait."
Argentina's attacking exploits also afford them enough options to get the job done more often than not. The team's form has rarely dipped, even on imperfect days like Tuesday -- Argentina put just nine of their 22 shots on target, underperforming on their 2.72 expected goals tally. It was not inherently dissimilar from their opening day win over Canada last week.
"[The two games] were different but we are always trying to do our best," Scaloni said. "The things that we proposed as a game plan, we executed well … I don't know if one was better than the other but I think that this shows the level of difficulty of these Copa America tournaments. We are satisfied because we can enjoy the days and give some minutes to the younger ones. They deserve it."
Their embarrassment of riches could come in handy as soon as Saturday when Argentina face Peru in their final group stage game. The other big storyline of the win over Chile was a possible injury concern for Messi, who was on the sideline for a few minutes being treated for a niggling hamstring injury. Though he returned and played the full 90, taking one shot and creating five chances during the match, he admits that his availability this weekend is now up in the air.
"I felt some discomfort in my right hamstring at the beginning of the game," he said after the match. "It was tight. It wasn't as loose as it should've been. But I was able to finish the game. We'll see how it goes."
Managing Messi's minutes was always going to be a priority as he nears the end of his career, but the added bonus of booking a quarterfinal berth with a game to spare means Scaloni could offer a preview of life post-Messi against Peru. Scaloni did not commit to team selection for Saturday but did tease the idea of rotation.
"I need to analyze the game plan," he said. "It would be logical to give [Garnacho and Valentin Carboni] some minutes because they are young talents and they are having a great attitude watching their teammates compete."
Imperfect as they may be, Argentina have yet to truly falter in their campaign to successfully defend their Copa America title. After Brazil's scoreless draw on Monday, La Albiceleste may still be the most impressive and consistent team at the competition -- and that's with plenty of time on the calendar to grow as the tournament odes.
