Jorge Burruchaga had the best seat in the house. In 1986 he watched Diego Maradona from the inside of Argentina’s midfield, scoring the winner in the final against West Germany while his captain bent reality elsewhere on the pitch. Burruchaga’s eyes told the same story as every spectator’s: that some players operate on a plane the rest can only admire. His own career was distinguished, a World Cup-winning goal and spells in France and Argentina, yet he always understood that his defining memory would be sharing a shirt with Maradona. Decades later, Argentine teammates still describe Messi with the same mixture of laughter and disbelief, the same sense that normal rules do not apply. Alexis Mac Allister finds himself in that privileged but dizzying position at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. After Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria in Dallas, the Liverpool midfielder struggled to find adjectives for Messi’s record-breaking brace. He spoke of the privilege of sharing a dressing room with the all-time leading scorer, of moments that look impossible on television becoming routine in training. Mac Allister’s own rise, from Brighton to the Premier League and the World Cup, gives him the perspective to recognise genuine greatness. The parallels with 1986 are almost eerie: another World Cup, another Argentine No.10 rewriting history, another midfielder left grinning and shaking his head. Burruchaga’s wonder has become Mac Allister’s. The faces change, but the sensation of standing next to genius remains the most exclusive club in football. In 1986 the supporting cast included Valdano and Ruggeri; in 2026 it is Alvarez, Fernandez and Romero. What links them is the realisation that they are witnesses as much as participants. As Argentina advance through the United States, Canada and Mexico, Mac Allister’s words echo down the years: some players are simply beyond description, and all a teammate can do is run alongside them and hope the world understands what it is seeing.