With Big Names Firing Blanks, Dario Benedetto Could Be Argentina’s World Cup Savior

Tomorrow night, Argentina host Peru at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires knowing that victory will send them above the visitors and into CONMEBOL’s automatic qualifying places before their final match away to Ecuador on Tuesday. All eyes will be on Lionel Messi and the ever-improving Paulo Dybala as La Albiceleste attempt to safely navigate an unfathomable disaster, but Argentina’s entire World Cup qualifying campaign shows that nothing will go according to script.

Manager Jorge Sampaoli announced his squad for this decisive pair of qualifiers back in the middle of September, opting to omit the Argentinian enigmas that are Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain. Sampaoli has put an emphasis on striking a balance between all of Argentina’s facets of play, an essential that predecessors Gerardo Martino and Edgardo Bauza failed to find.

While this would ultimately take a massive burden off the shoulders of Messi and elevate Argentina above the status of perennial also-rans, there’s still the small matter of finding a striker that won’t fluff the myriad of opportunities that Messi creates.

And so Sampaoli has turned to a forward that’s enjoyed himself immensely within the confines of La Bombonera, Boca Juniors striker Dario Benedetto. The 27-year-old only has one cap to his name, and he never really reached the heights expected of him during a two-year spell with Club America following a transfer from Tijuana, but he'll be Argentina's X factor on Thursday. 

Dario Benedetto training with Argentina ahead of World Cup qualifying. Photo: @Gringobj | Twitter

Benedetto has been a revelation at Boca, leading the club to the 2016-17 Primera Division title while scoring 21 goals in 25 matches. 

#Superliga ¡Vos lo votaste en nuestras redes! El de Darío Benedetto fue elegido como el #GolDeLaFecha 4 pic.twitter.com/7Euq7yp8fJ

— Superliga Argentina (@argsaf) September 28, 2017

The native of the Buenos Aires Province might not be the long-term answer for Argentina, but he’s been called upon to do a job tomorrow and possibly turn himself into a national hero in the process.