Lautaro, Serie A's most expensive player, took 9 shots with 5 on target but failed to score, making it unlikely for him to secure a starting spot in Argentina's lineup.

Once known as the "little World Cup" due to the presence of Italy's Seven Sisters and regarded as the premier among Europe's top five leagues, Serie A has now fallen to last place among them. With PSG's Dembélé returning to a valuation exceeding 100 million euros, Serie A remains the only major league without a player worth that much. The highest-valued player in Serie A is Inter Milan's 28-year-old Argentine forward Lautaro Martínez, valued at 85 million euros. Despite being the league's priciest player and a former Serie A top scorer, Lautaro started in a recent friendly for Argentina, taking 9 shots with 5 on target, yet he failed to find the net.

In that match, Argentina narrowly defeated Venezuela 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lo Celso, with Lautaro providing an assist. However, Lautaro received a post-match rating of only 6.3, the lowest among Argentina’s 11 starters and 5 substitutes, highlighting just how poorly the forward performed.

According to match data, Lautaro played the full game as a starter and took 9 shots alone, accounting for half of Argentina’s total 19 attempts. Yet, he remained scoreless, especially during one sequence of three attempts that amused the fans. It’s unclear what Messi, watching from the stands, thought about this. Undeniably, Argentina still depends heavily on Messi. Given Lautaro’s shooting struggles, this Serie A star can only serve as a backup forward for Argentina. With his shooting ability, he cannot claim a starting striker role. What’s your take on this?