Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez, Rodrigo De Paul, Emiliano Martínez — behind their fighting strength on the pitch is another shared love: “asado.” Cooked in the local style over fire, or barbecued, this dish is one of the symbols of Argentina’s food culture. Coming to play the World Cup, the Argentina team have again brought a large quantity of beef to keep the taste of home, to be made into asado.
The Spanish word “asado” essentially means grilled or roasted meat. This traditional dish is made by slowly grilling beef, ribs, sausage or various cuts over a charcoal fire. Asado is also made with lamb and goat, but in Argentina the most popular is made with beef. For the 2026 World Cup, the Argentina team sent about 500 kg of beef, cut in various ways, to their base camp in Kansas in the United States, imported with special permission under US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules.
For the Argentina national football team, asado is not just a food but part of the team’s culture, present at pre-match team dinners, training breaks and celebrations of important wins. Players, coaching staff and family members gather for these long barbecues, and many say the team’s bonds grow stronger at the asado table. Just as football is part of national identity for Argentines, asado is an inseparable part of their way of life — so even at a tournament as big as the World Cup, Messi and his teammates are unwilling to be far from this favourite dish, keeping the taste of home on the other side of the world. Sources: The Sun, NDTV.
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