5 Attacking players that could be important for Argentina if Messi retires

#1 Paulo Dybala

Dybala looks likely to replace Messi as Argentina's go-to guy

For a very long time, Argentine football searched for the natural successor to Diego Maradona. Pablo Aimar, Ariel Ortega. Andreas D'Alessandro among others bore the weight of expectation that comes with wearing the number 10 jersey for the nation.

So many quality players were judged harshly simply for wearing Maradona's jersey. That is until the arrival of Messi on the stage. Now with Argentina's all-time record scorer unsure about his international future, the stage seems set for the baby-faced Dybala to step in.

Affectionately named La Joya (The Jewel), the Juventus ace remains an enigma at both club and national level. For all his obvious qualities, there still seems to be something missing in his game; that I-belong-at-the-top mentality that the world's greatest players possess in spades.

Blessed with a sweet left foot, superb finishing and quick-thinking, Dybala remains the obvious choice to step into Messi's very large shoes. He has been accused of going missing in the big games for his club; Juventus. This is something he will need to work on if he wishes to become La Albiceleste's go-to guy.

Aged 25, he can no longer hide and must show that he has what it takes to become the team's central figure. Dybala will need to improve an abysmal goalscoring record for Argentina (1 in 18 games).

To be fair, most of his appearances have come off the bench. Scaloni has shown a willingness to trust him. He has featured in almost all of Argentina's games post Russia 2018 where he only made one substitute appearance.

Dybala has the quality, whether he can deliver what the team needs to replace Messi's goals, assists and leadership will become obvious over time.