​“When you reach a semi-final you have to suffer,” Lionel Scaloni said. But did Argentina really need to endure quite so much? They were dragged into extra time by a depleted Switzerland, just as they had been by the so-called minnows of Cape Verde, and endured a record-breaking comeback to see off Egypt. The defending champions’ path through the knockout rounds has, in effect, been a narrative of hardship. Yet after dismissing Switzerland in Kansas City, Scaloni kept returning to a core reason for the struggle—physicality. “Physically they are a very strong squad,” he noted. “It was very difficult for us to win the duels. Switzerland are very good on a physical level.”
And perhaps Argentina are not. They possess the stamina and the tenacity to conjure late goals—over their last three matches they have struck in the 79th, 83rd, 92nd, 92nd again, 111th, 112th and 121st minutes. But there are different kinds of physicality at play. Their most celebrated player is famously unphysical: a veteran approaching his forties who spends much of the match merely walking, despite his technical brilliance. Lionel Messi does not operate as the team’s running engine any longer, a reality reflected in his reduced pace on the field.
Yet his teammates may not be able to offset the deficit with sheer running power. FIFA’s statistics place Argentina only 10th for sprints, behind three teams that have played one game fewer. More strikingly, they rank 48th out of 48 for the average speed at which their players have moved in this tournament. Messi’s presence may slow the average, dragging down the numbers in one respect, though that is not to say he is a liability. The lesson is that others on the squad are not compensating with the kind of high-intensity running that measures up to the demands of the modern game.
Among individuals, Messi sits at 580th for average speed; even Cristiano Ronaldo is listed at 501st, and some players even lower are goalkeepers or centre-backs whose duties do not demand constant sprinting. But again, this is not a denunciation of Messi. The telling point is that the rest of the squad have not filled the gap with lung-busting bursts of pace and effort. Jude Bellingham, who Argentina will meet in the semis, ranks second for most sprints in the World Cup. The first Argentinian to appear in the sprint leaders is Enzo Fernández, tied for 19th. In total, about 20 players exceed anyone from Scaloni’s side in FIFA’s high-speed running metrics.
Argentina’s quarterfinal victory notwithstanding, their overall performance has felt less than their best. They did possess a numerical edge after Breel Embolo’s red card to Switzerland, yet converting that advantage into a fuller attacking toll proved stubborn. It is worth noting that Switzerland had already played 120 minutes against Colombia in the round of 16, and were reduced to ten men for a full hour against Argentina, including stoppage time. They finally cracked in the last ten minutes, while Argentina prepare to face other European opponents as they progress.
For their last-four clash with England in Atlanta, the question, once again, is whether Argentina can summon the kind of physicality that scales and sustains a high-intensity game across 90 minutes and beyond, while also drawing on the skill and ingenuity that have defined Scaloni’s team. The path to the final continues to demand not only tactical grit and technical excellence but also a level of sustained pace and endurance that can lift the team when fatigue and adversity mount. If Messi can still influence matters without the volume of running seen in his youth, the rest of the squad will need to rise to the challenge, matching or exceeding the opposing side’s physical demand and converting any advantage—numerical or momentary—into decisive breakthroughs.