Four games in and yet it’s tempting to say that Argentina have not yet been fully tested at the World Cup 2022. At least, not in the fullest sense of an on-pitch challenge against a group of players who are of equal standing to most of their own.
There have been other types of challenges, of course. The mental task of overcoming an opening group game defeat - and one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history, at that - and the regular, but demanding, test of breaking down stubborn opponents intent on little more than not losing. And navigating a surprisingly stressful final few minutes in this first knockout game, as it transpired.
