Almada enjoys World Cup victory and looks forward to MLS season

First, she cried with joy and shared the news with her family. So, Thiago Almada needed to take a plane. Quickly.

The Atlanta United midfielder was called up to Argentina’s World Cup squad as an injury replacement just days before the team’s opening game.

“I was a bit surprised. The call brought me to tears,” he said. “So the first thing I did was tell my family and then I had to travel that night.”

After a breakneck campaign in Qatar that ended with Argentina lifting the game’s most prestigious trophy, Almada returned for his second season with Atlanta United in Major League Soccer.

Almada is the first active MLS player to win a World Cup. Twelve others who have played in MLS, including David Villa, Thierry Henry, Andrea Pirlo and Bastian Schweinsteiger, have also won international soccer’s biggest trophy, but none of them were in the league when they did so.

Argentina’s successful run at the World Cup was challenging at first, with a shock loss to Saudi Arabia in the opening match. Some have called it one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.

For Almada, that loss made winning the title at the end even sweeter.

“It was a shock for us to lose that game where we had so much control of the game and then they scored two goals in five minutes. But I think it served us well,” Almada said through an interpreter. “We were able to lift our heads and stay on the path we wanted to. And yes, it just allowed us to stick together.”

Almada, 21, had only earned his first cap to the national team in September, but caught the eye of Lionel Messi, who praised him for his freshness and quickness.

“Very naughty,” Messi told reporters. “He’s not afraid of anything.”

In Qatar, Almada appeared late in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Poland in the group stage. He later said: “I am the luckiest child in the world.”

He is now back in the United States, training with Atlanta in preparation for the MLS season, which begins on February 25.

“I think the best thing he can do is keep his feet on the ground and that is exactly what he has shown since the first day he was here in 2023 with us. He has been on time at every meal, at every training session,” said coach Gonzalo Pineda. He has been doing everything that is normal. He is very humble and I like that. So I would like to keep him with that little hunger.”

Almada signed with Atlanta as a designated player in February 2022 for a reported transfer fee of $16 million, an MLS record. In his first season with United he scored six goals and 12 assists, earning him the league’s Rookie of the Year award.

While Almada performed well individually, Atlanta finished 10-14-10, sitting 11th in the Eastern Conference standings and missing the playoffs for the second time in three years.

The team took steps to improve with the hiring of Seattle Sounders president Garth Lagerwey, but there was consternation among fans with the recent purchase of Josef Martinez, who subsequently signed with Inter Miami.

Almada remains a key player as United’s attacking midfielder, alongside goalkeeper Brad Guzan and defensive midfielder Ozzie Alonso. Vice President Carlos Bocanegra said this week that the team is actively looking for a striker.

“My goal is to have a great season as a group,” Almada said. “So we want to have a great preseason, then play play-by-play, try to make the playoffs and hopefully end up with a title at the end of the season.”

He said he thinks it won’t be long before there are more World Cup winners playing in the league. And certainly, MLS as a whole will be lifted by the next World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States along with Canada and Mexico.

“Many MLS players were in the World Cup. There are more and more young and talented players coming here,” he said. “So I think the gap between MLS and those big European leagues is narrowing.”

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