The 27-year-old midfielder not only serves as a key figure in the midfield but also acts as Argentina's "lucky charm". The Liverpool star has played 13 World Cup matches without a single loss, a tournament record. Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo likened him to "'Mr. Unbeaten' of the World Cup".

Mac Allister played 6 matches at the 2022 World Cup. His only absence was in the opening match, where Argentina surprisingly lost 1-2 to Saudi Arabia. From that point, the son of former footballer Carlos Mac Allister earned the full trust of coach Lionel Scaloni. He started all subsequent matches, helping the Albiceleste march all the way to the championship with four victories in 90 minutes and two tough wins in penalty shootouts.

At the 2026 World Cup, the player born in 1998 continued to start all seven matches, bringing his total appearances at the biggest football festival on the planet to 13. He and the Albiceleste recorded all their victories this time within a maximum of 120 minutes.

Mac Allister scored one goal and provided one assist in this year's tournament. He headed in the opening goal in the quarter-final victory against Switzerland. Earlier, the midfielder also passed to Lisandro Martinez, who scored in extra time during the round of 16 match against Cape Verde.

Alexis Mac Allister celebrates with Lionel Messi after the opening goal in Argentina's 3-1 victory over Switzerland in the 2026 World Cup quarter-final in Kansas City on 11/7. *Photo: AP*.

In Qatar 2022, Mac Allister was also involved in two important goals. In the group stage, after Lionel Messi missed a penalty, Mac Allister himself scored the opening goal against Poland, opening the door for the Albiceleste to advance. In the final match, the former Boca Juniors player assisted Angel Di Maria to make it 2-0.

Prior to the match against Spain, Mac Allister had 53 national team caps and scored 7 goals. Besides the two goals in the US and Qatar mentioned above, he added two goals in World Cup qualifiers and three goals against opponents in friendly matches.

Mac Allister debuted for the national team in 2019, but the national team recalled him almost three years later. He rarely featured for the Albiceleste youth teams, except for his participation in the Tokyo Olympics.

Mac Allister is likely to start again for Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final against Spain at MetLife Stadium today, 19/7. Argentina aims to become the third team in history to successfully defend the World Cup title, following Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962).

Vy Anh