It is now official: Lionel Messi will play in his sixth World Cup next month, having been called by coach Lionel Scaloni for the 26-man squad for the competition. Messi, defending champion, will turn 39 during the tournament, on June 24.
In the squad, there are 17 players that were also present four years ago, when Argentina lifted the trophy in Qatar, including Emiliano Martínez, Nicolas Otamendi, Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández, Julián Álvarez, and Lautaro Martínez. The squad also includes midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, who missed the 2022 edition due to injury, but was part of the World Cup 2018, but doesn't include 34-year-old Marcos Acuña, who was in 2022, for fitness reasons, which has surprised his fans.
Among the new talent in the squad we find Nico Paz, Giuliano Simeone, Valentín Barco, José Manuel López, and Thiago Almada, but no Franco Mastantuono, the 18-year-old from Real Madrid, nor Gianluca Prestianni, the Benfica winger who was given a sanction that would force him to miss two group stage games for homophobic behaviour.
Argentina squad for World Cup 2026:
Goalkeepers:
Juan Musso (Atletico Madrid)
Geronimo Rulli (Marseille)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Defenders:
Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille)
Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon)
Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate)
Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United)
Cristian Romero (Tottenham)
Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica)
Facundo Medina (Marseille)
Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders:
Leandro Paredes (River Plate)
Rodrigo de Paul (Inter Miami)
Valentin Barco (Strasbourg)
Giovani lo Celso (Real Betis)
Ezequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen)
Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)
Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea)
Forwards:
Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
Nicolas Gonzalez (Atletico Madrid)
Thiago Almada (Atletico Madrid)
Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid)
Nico Paz (Como)
Jose Manuel Lopez (Palmeiras)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)