Three months before its World Cup defense, Argentina lost a great chance to gauge where it's at against European champion Spain when the Finalissima was canceled. Since winning the 2022 World Cup, Argentina has steamrolled through South American qualifying - four defeats in 18 matches - won the 2024 Copa America and played 11 low-key friendlies and won them all. Coach Lionel Scaloni was counting on facing Spain this month to clear up the great uncertainty of captain Lionel Messi 's availability for the World Cup, evaluate other starters and assess younger prospects. But the war in the Middle East made staging the Finalissima in Qatar on March 27 impossible, and the Argentine Football Association couldn't find a suitable new date with UEFA. The AFA also had to scrap a friendly against Qatar. That's sent the AFA into frantic negotiations for new opponents in this month's international window with no word regarding immediate plans. The AFA also has not confirmed any final warmup ...