Giuliano Simeone embraces Argentina debut, honors family and dreams of World Cup

Giuliano Simeone said his first World Cup felt like "un sueño" and "lo máximo para un jugador de fútbol", a milestone that also returned the Simeone name to Argentina’s biggest stage after a 24-year absence. The Atlético de Madrid forward framed the moment as both a personal breakthrough and a family promise, saying he had promised that if he ever played for the Selección Argentina, he would wear "Simeone" on the shirt to honor the surname.

That pledge gives his rise a sharper meaning inside Argentina’s national-team cycle. Giuliano has used "Giuliano" on his Atlético shirt to build his own path, away from the shadow of Diego Simeone, but he said the family name belongs on the Argentina jersey. Diego Simeone played 11 World Cup matches across the 1994, 1998 and 2002 editions, and the surname had not appeared at a World Cup since that run. Giuliano also said his father sent him a message telling him to leave everything on the pitch with the Argentina shirt.

The family link is more than symbolic. Giuliano said he knew Diego Simeone largely through videos rather than by watching him live, yet he still pointed to France 1998, where Diego served as Argentina captain, as part of the legacy that shaped his view of the national team. In a separate family conversation with Giovanni Simeone and Gianluca Simeone, Giuliano described jokes about sending photos to compare their physiques and stories about the captain’s armband, details that turned a debut into a broader inheritance story.

On the field, Lionel Scaloni has valued Giuliano Simeone for his work on the flank and his ability to arrive in attacking areas. Giuliano made his senior Argentina debut on Nov. 19, 2024, and had already collected 13 appearances and two goals before the 2026 World Cup. With Argentina already qualified, there was speculation he could get minutes in the third group match against Jordan.

For Giuliano, the emotional pull of the tournament also runs through Lionel Messi. He called Messi "el mejor jugador de la historia del fútbol" and said watching him train and sacrifice every day confirms why he won the 2022 World Cup, on Giuliano’s birthday. That is the new Argentina story unfolding around him, with a famous surname trying to add another chapter while Messi’s generation still defines the standard.