Lionel Messi, unsurprisingly, has been a key part of Argentina’s resurgence in the last 8-10 years. Messi has been the driving force behind the side which reached a World Cup final in 2014, reached multiple Copa America finals and won the same last year.
And that good form has continued even now.
In fact, they have been unbeaten in their last 29 international matches with their last defeat coming back in Copa America 2019 in the semi-final against Brazil. Lionel Messi, who returned from international retirement in 2017, has been their talisman.
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Since 2005- when Messi made his international debut- the South American side has played 158 internationals with Messi in the side. They won 115 of those games, with a win percentage of 72.78.
Argentina have also played 54 times without Messi in this period. Out of this, they won 30, drew 12 times and lost on as many occasions.
Here we take a look at how Argentina performed without Messi in the 17 years.