Argentina’s Alvarez eyes another WC glory

(AP) BUENOS AIRES, May 26: Argentina forward Julian Alvarez has said the reigning world champions will head into the FIFA World Cup 2026 with the same winning mentality that guided them to glory in Qatar, insisting that the Albiceleste always aim to finish as champions.

Alvarez, who emerged as one of Argentina’s break-out stars during the 2022 World Cup campaign, reflected on how dramatically his role in the national team has evolved over the past four years. The 26-year-old travelled to Qatar largely as a back-up option be-hind Lautaro Martinez, who had been instru-mental in Argenti-na’s Copa America tri-umph in 2021. However, after making substitute ap-pearances against Saudi Arabia and Mexico, Alvarez earned a start-ing place in the final group-stage match against Poland and never relin-quished it.Now one of Scaloni’s most trusted players, Alvarez heads into the tournament as an estab-lished starter and one of the central figures in Ar-gentina’s attack alongside Lautaro Martinez.