Lautaro Martínez
Argentina captain and Inter Milan striker; Serie A 2025-26 joint top scorer
Last refreshed: 21 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can Lautaro lead Argentina to back-to-back World Cup titles in North America?
Timeline for Lautaro Martínez
Mentioned in: USA settle a back four vs Senegal
2026 FIFA World CupTied on 7 Serie A goals by Pulisic's brace
2026 FIFA World Cup: Pulisic brace ends 134-day drought, ties Lautaro on seven- Is Lautaro Martínez Argentina's best striker for the 2026 World Cup?
- Lautaro is Argentina's first-choice striker and captain of Inter Milan, finishing the 2025-26 Serie A season level with AC Milan's Christian Pulisic on seven goals as Capocannoniere contenders.Source: Lowdown
- How many goals did Lautaro score this season at club level?
- Lautaro Martínez had seven Serie A goals in the 2025-26 season with two matchdays remaining, joint-top with Christian Pulisic as of May 2026.Source: Lowdown
- Did Lautaro Martínez win the 2022 World Cup with Argentina?
- Yes. Lautaro was part of Argentina's World Cup-winning squad in Qatar 2022, though he played a squad role behind Julián Álvarez as Messi's strike partner in the knockout rounds.
- What group is Argentina in at the 2026 World Cup?
- Argentina's group assignment for 2026 has not been detailed in available sources; the full group-stage draw information is not confirmed in this briefing.
Background
Lautaro Martínez enters the 2026 World Cup as Argentina's first-choice striker and one of the most in-form forwards in European football. He closed the 2025-26 Serie A season level on seven goals with AC Milan's Christian Pulisic, the two sharing the Capocannoniere race with two matchdays remaining in May 2026. As defending world champions, Argentina arrive in North America looking to become the first back-to-back World Cup winners since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
Born in Bahía Blanca on 22 August 1997, Lautaro joined Inter Milan from Racing Club in 2018 and became the club's captain, forming a devastating partnership with Romelu Lukaku and later Edin Džeko. He is a compact, high-energy centre-forward who excels at pressing and link-up play as well as finishing.
For Argentina, Lautaro is the striker tasked with providing the physical presence and running that allows Lionel Messi to operate in deeper creative zones. His record at the Qatar 2022 tournament was modest in terms of statistics, but his contribution to Argentina's pressing structure was fundamental. In 2026 he arrives in peak form.