Consecutive global championships a 'fantasy' for Argentina, according to Tagliafico

Argentina's captain and forward, Lionel Messi, was seen lifting the FIFA World Cup Trophy as he celebrated with his teammates after winning the Qatar 2022 World Cup final football match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on December 18, 2022.

As of Lyon, France, 27/03/2026, at 12:16 (UTC + 1), Argentina full-back Nicolas Tagliafico expressed that becoming the first team to successfully defend the World Cup title in 64 years would be a "dream" for the three-time world champions.

The South American giants are among the favourites for this year's tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, having won the title in Qatar four years ago, inspired by Lionel Messi, who has announced that this will be his sixth and final World Cup.

Argentina have been in strong form heading into the finals, finishing top of the South American qualifying standings, with the 38-year-old Messi leading the team, and the last nation to win back-to-back World Cups was Pele's Brazil in 1958 and 1962.

According to Tagliafico, only Brazil and Italy have won two consecutive World Cups, but that was a long time ago, and he noted that it's a dream, like their dream of winning one, but they have to focus on the day-to-day, one match at a time, without getting carried away.

Tagliafico emphasized the importance of daily work, saying that it's the daily work that will pay off, and Argentina still have largely the same squad which won the title in Qatar four years ago, although some younger players have recently broken into the side.

Como rising star Nicolas Paz, Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi, and Strasbourg's Valentin Barco are among the new faces hoping to feature at the World Cup, bringing a mix of young players, perhaps less experienced, but with a lot of enthusiasm and a strong desire to wear the national jersey.

Joaquin Panichelli, the leading scorer in France's Ligue 1 this season, was also expected to play a part at the World Cup, but he suffered a knee injury in training on Thursday, and media reports suggest he has torn his ACL and is now likely to miss the tournament.

Tagliafico has a good feeling about this team, even if sometimes it seems like they're relaxing, but he believes that in competitions like this, the team rediscovers its best form, it gets its motivation back, and the players become more focused.

Lyon's Tagliafico is also aware that this year's expanded 48-team tournament across an entire continent will be a different beast to the World Cup Argentina won in Qatar, where every match was played within or near Doha, and the team will have to adapt to new travel and training arrangements.

From travel to training and match venues, the truth is that nothing has been discussed regarding the overall organisation, according to Tagliafico, who added that they know they'll be in Kansas City, but apart from that, they know nothing about the logistics.

Tagliafico also emphasized that there's another crucial match, and they could have the misfortune, in the round of 32, for some unfortunate detail to eliminate them, making it a different World Cup, with many more teams, and he thinks it will be even more competitive.

Argentina face Mauritius in a friendly on Friday, before continuing their World Cup preparations against Zambia on Tuesday, as part of their build-up to the tournament, which was disrupted by the cancellation of their game against European champions Spain in the Finalissima in Doha.

The cancellation of the game against Spain was due to the United States' and Israel's war on Iran, and Argentina's title defence will now start on June 16 against Algeria in Kansas City, before moving on to Arlington where they will face Austria and Jordan.