The fairytale in which the 2026 World Cup final provided the stage for ‘one last dance’ between generational greats Lionel Messi (39) and Cristiano Ronaldo (41) is over. Ended by an injury-time goal from Mikel Merino in Dallas on July 6.
Spain advanced at the expense of Portugal in the Iberian derby, and with Ronaldo having confirmed this tournament would be his last World Cup appearance, it was over to Messi to see if he could further his own ambitions. Could he ever.
On July 7, Argentina looked to be crashing out of the tournament after Egypt took a two-goal lead in Atlanta. With less than 20 minutes of the last-16 game remaining, an epic rescue mission was launched, and Messi was at the heart of it. Three goals in fourteen minutes, including an equaliser lashed into the roof of the net by Messi, preserved Argentina’s dreams of defending the World Cup in the most dramatic fashion possible.
So, where does that leave MEXC Fan Token™ traders, with the quarterfinals looming? Let’s dive in.
Argentina Roll On as 97,850 $ARG Burns
The Argentine Football Association Fan Token™ ($ARG) is subject to a treasury deflationary framework conceived by sports blockchain Chiliz, which means that every World Cup win triggers a burn of the token’s treasury reserves.
La Albiceleste’s World Cup victories have effectively wiped 97,850 $ARG tokens from the treasury, although the supply composition of $ARG is heavily skewed towards circulating, with less than 7% of its total supply held in the treasury. Nevertheless, Argentina’s wins have increased the scarcity of their official token.
Messi and co. are currently on course to retain the World Cup having won all five matches, three in the group stage and two in the knockouts. Of the teams left in the tournament, only the finalists from the previous World Cup – Argentina and France – have won all of their games.
Argentina were dominant in the group stage but have had their noses bloodied in the knockout rounds, first in a dramatic round-of-32 contest with unheralded Cape Verde (July 3), and then against Egypt in the last-16. The holders required a late winner in both games, which ended 3-2.
The nature of a win is ultimately irrelevant when it comes to the aforementioned burn mechanism, which is transparently executed on-chain: Argentina’s five wins have triggered five consecutive burns: three 1% burns in the group stage, a 2% burn in the round-of-32, and a 2.5% burn in the round-of-16.
What’s Next for $ARG?
Next up for Argentina is Switzerland on July 12. The quarterfinal will be a third straight knockout tie in which they are heavy favourites, yet as we saw with Cape Verde and Egypt, nothing can be taken for granted.
The Swiss may be ranked 14th in the world but they have their own ambitions, are undefeated in the tournament (4W, 1D), and will have taken heart from Argentina’s recent toils.
With the burn rate increasing round-by-round, a victory over Switzerland would trigger a burn of 5% of $ARG treasury holdings, or 62,240 tokens. Should Argentina see off the Swiss, they will face the winner of England vs Norway (July 11) in the semi on July 14, with the burn rate set at 7.5%.
It’s fair to say none of Argentina’s matches so far have felt like a showdown, at least on paper. And their recent struggles against unheralded opponents have probably dented belief that they can beat Spain or France, their likely opponents in the final. However, 24hr volumes remain strong (they hit $3.7M on the day of the Egypt game) and with big showdowns and significant burns lying up ahead, $ARG traders will be busy in the weeks to come.
Those backing Messi to spearhead an Argentina World Cup repeat may see value in entering their positions now, with the Switzerland game days away and the prospect of a blockbuster collision with England or even Norway thereafter.
We might have missed out on Messi vs Ronaldo, but Argentina vs England/Norway would pit Messi against one of his Golden Boot rivals, either Harry Kane or Erling Haaland. At the time of writing, Messi tops the competition’s goalscoring charts with eight goals in five games, with Haaland on seven and Kane on six.
Big narratives often drive on-chain sentiment, and the Golden Boot race could make Argentina’s semifinal even juicier. First, though, they must defeat Switzerland.
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