Argentina facing an uncertain next step with Messi and Scaloni both still up in the air

The final against Spain exposed a lot. Argentina fought, ran, tackled and tried to drag the game into a mess, but that was not enough. They lost 1-0, and in truth they never really looked like a team with many ideas of their own. A lot of what got them this far was grit, emotion and the hope that Messi would find a way again.

This time he did not. That has made the conversation in Argentina shift very quickly from the pain of the defeat to what comes next. Because if Messi really has played his last World Cup, and if Scaloni is also thinking about walking away, then Argentina are not just losing a final. They may be losing the 2 figures everything has been built around for years.

For almost 20 years, Messi has not just been Argentina's best player. He has been the centre of the whole thing, tactically and emotionally. The team has been shaped around what he can do and what he needs. That also meant everyone else often had to work harder to support him, cover for him and keep the structure alive around him.

Scaloni understood that better than anyone. From the start, he seemed to know how to handle Messi, not just as a star but as a person. That relationship mattered, and it helped produce the best era Argentina have had in modern times: 2 Copa Americas, a World Cup and another final run. But even Scaloni, for all that success, never really found a full tactical answer after Angel Di Maria's exit. Argentina kept leaning on the same emotional axis and never quite built a convincing alternative.

That is why this next phase looks awkward. There is no second Messi waiting around. Nico Paz may be the closest fit in pure football terms, but he is only 22 and still far from being that kind of figure. So if Messi steps away, Argentina will have to build something different rather than just try to copy what they had before.

It also takes a clear decision at the top. Claudio Tapia now has to work out how much of this cycle is over and how much can still be carried forward. There is already talk about Diego Simeone if Scaloni leaves, but for now that is still just talk.

What is certain is that the old formula looked tired by the end. Argentina will still be remembered for what this group won. That part is secure. But after this World Cup, the feeling is that the great run has reached a breaking point, and whatever comes next may need to look very different.