For Argentina’s Champions, Back to Work Means Back to Earth

Lionel Messi and Argentina will face Panama in Buenos Aires in their first game since the World Cup.Credit...Daniel Jayo/Getty ImagesWhen Alexis Mac Allister returned to his day job, he was greeted by a standing ovation, an Argentine flag and a set of strategically placed cannons that showered him with blue, white and gold glitter. His Premier League team, Brighton, had even gone to the trouble of commissioning a scale-model replica of the World Cup trophy for him to lift.

Few of Mac Allister’s teammates on the Argentina squad that became world champions three months ago experienced such a lavish welcome when they returned to their clubs, but most were treated to some sort of celebration, a…