Loser: Paulo Dybala
For all his promising displays with Juventus and another impressive club campaign behind him, Dybala isn't starting at the World Cup. He lags behind in the pecking order and his only chances of featuring are from the bench. But after today's game, he may be wondering just how limited would that even be.
Forget starting the friendly, the Bianconeri starlet did not even play a single minute of the game and was left warming the bench throughout. Sergio Aguero replaced Gonzalo Higuain in the attack while Messi was handed full 90 minutes, despite completing his hattrick well before time.
For Dybala to impress and make a case, he needs more game time. But the fact that he was snubbed even for a warm-up match like this doesn't spell anything positive. It now appears that we may get to see him very few and far between, just like a young and promising Kaka in the 2002 World Cup, who played just 20 minutes of the title-winning campaign.
The only silver lining here is they still have to play Israel before flying off to Russia. And Dybala would be hoping to not only start but also make an impression.