Messi will be the most-owned Argentine and the most fitness-flagged. Julián Álvarez, cheaper and with a higher minutes floor, is the value route into the champions' attack — a regular scorer in a Group J (Algeria, Austria, Jordan) that should offer goals.
The logic is risk management. Messi's hamstring makes him a boom-or-rest pick, the kind who can win you a round or hand you a blank if he is wrapped in cotton wool. Álvarez plays, presses and scores, and costs less — so own both if your budget allows, and if you must choose, the floor matters across a six-week tournament.
Argentina's draw is workable and Scaloni's continuity means the roles are settled, which is exactly what you want from a value forward you intend to set and forget through the group.
In a six-week tournament, availability is a stat. Álvarez's best attribute might be that he simply plays.
He is the Argentine on the value tier of the captain board, and the natural hedge behind any Messi-led build.
Sources: RotoWire — group-stage rankings · AllAboutFPL.