World Cup-bound Alexis Mac Allister: "My biggest dream was to play for Argentina's national team"
The Brighton and Argentina midfielder, who can play on the left wing or in the centre, speaks about realising his dream of representing his country at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in new "World at their Feet" Olympic Channel Original Series – and how he's adapting to life in the Premier League.
Football
With a surname like his and a flash of red in his hair, you may be forgiven for not realising on first glance Alexis Mac Allister is Argentina born and bred – something the 23-year-old is proud of as he prepares for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
"My biggest dream was to play for Argentina's national team, and I've reached that goal," Mac Allister says in the new Olympic Channel Original Series "World at their Feet", profiling 11 men's football players ahead of the 2022 tournament and available to watch now on Olympics.com.
That dream came true in 2019, when the midfielder – who plays in England's Premier League for Brighton and Hove Albion – made his senior debut alongside stars like Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero, both stalwarts of the national team who were also Olympic champions at Beijing 2008.
The Olympic theme would continue with Mac Allister, who represented Argentina at Tokyo 2020 in 2021 with much pride – although, he admits, that was not a foregone conclusion.
"[Brighton] had no plans to let me go to the Olympics, yet I pressed," he says. "I pushed because I felt it was very important for me to represent Argentina at the Olympics."
While the team were eliminated in the group stage, that experience coupled with strong club form saw Mac Allister recalled to the full national team in 2022, and eventually make the country's final 23-man World Cup squad.
Mac Allister's football beginnings and early struggles in England
Mac Allister comes from a bona fide footballing dynasty in Argentina, with his two brothers and father all also having played the sport professionally.
All four began their careers at Argentinos Juniors, a club Mac Allister – with clear warmth – describes as "our home". "It is the place where we were trained as people and as football players."
The famous club, which also produced stars like Diego Maradona, Juan Román Riquelme, and Esteban Cambiasso, selected the three Mac Allister brothers in the same match on 26 November 2017.
"The 26th of November was the day we had the opportunity for the three of us to play together. This was very important for our family. Everyone is still proud, and we enjoyed it very much."
Mac Allister then moved to England to play for Brighton, being loaned back to Argentinos Juniors and then later Boca Juniors.
Despite his name – "the surname Mac Allister comes from Ireland", he explains – Mac Allister admits adapting to life in Europe wasn't easy.
"The first year was tough for me. It was a year of many changes. When I got here, I realised that I was not physically at the level the Premier League required, or the team required of me.
"I also suffered and cried, and I missed my family and friends. But I knew I had the ability to play here."
Another spell out of Brighton's first team in 2021 was a frustrating period for the Argentinian.
"My mum and my two brothers came to see me in December (2021) to see me and they were the ones who gave me strength because it had been a few months where I hadn't played many minutes.
"And precisely on 26 December, I was in the starting eleven and from then on, I started every game."
• Top footballers in Olympic Channel series "World at their Feet" - watch
Argentina national team memories and dreams
"I remember the team with great figures like Messi and Agüero who won the Olympic Games tournament (in 2008)," Mac Allister shares.
"In the footballing world, maybe not so much importance is given to the Olympic Games, but as players, we do, and that's why we do everything possible to be there," he says of his Tokyo 2020 call-up.
"After the Olympics, my level grew much higher with Brighton and it was also my way of thanking the club's efforts (to let him play at the Olympics). I think I also came back with the desire to demonstrate my thanks for what they did for me."
Mac Allister's call-up to the Argentina squad for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup comes after the midfielder's most successful season in the Premier League to date, with five goals from 14 league appearances for Brighton.
It also means Mac Allister will wear his country's famous blue and white stripes alongside Lionel Messi, the latter in probably his final World Cup.
A dream that began as a child in Santa Rosa, Argentina, that grew at Argentinos Juniors, and that continues today at Brighton, will come true in Qatar.
World at their Feet
Meet some of the top Olympic footballers to watch out for at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. They recount their journey to becoming professional players as they are about to embark on a major international event.