The Argentine National Team is already all set to face the 2026 World Cup. This Thursday, through an institutional video published by the official accounts of the Albiceleste, Lionel Scaloni revealed the final list of players who will be in search of the two-time championship.
As expected, the main focus of the roster is on Lionel Messi. While it was uncertain whether he would participate in the most important tournament in football, it has now been confirmed that the Argentine captain will play in his sixth World Cup at 38 years old (and will turn 39 during the tournament), thus achieving an absolute record of World Cup participations that will also include Cristiano Ronaldo and Guillermo Ochoa.
In general terms, the call-up does not stray far from the base of players seen in recent times, although there are some notable inclusions. Among the main additions are Facundo Medina, Leonardo Balerdi, Valentín Barco, and José Manuel López, but the standout was Nico Paz, one of the figures in Serie A this season who had been called up in the last FIFA dates and has finally settled among Scaloni's trusted men.
On the other hand, the list also left significant absences. The most notable cases are Marcos Acuña, who is performing well at River, but is physically limited, and Marcos Senesi, who had a great season with his now former team, Bournemouth. Both lost their respective battles to Medina and Balerdi. Other notable players who did not make the final cut include Emiliano Buendía, Agustín Giay, Máximo Perrone, Franco Mastantuono, Matías Soulé, and Gianluca Prestianni.
Considering the Argentine National Team that became world champions in Qatar 2022, 17 out of 26 players are repeats: Emiliano "Dibu" Martínez, Gerónimo Rulli, Nicolás Tagliafico, Gonzalo Montiel, Lisandro Martínez, Cristian "Cuti" Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Nahuel Molina, Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández, Julián Álvarez, Lionel Messi, Thiago Almada, and Lautaro Martínez.
With everything confirmed, the Albiceleste will travel on Saturday to Kansas, a city that will serve as the base for the World Cup. There, they will begin training in preparation for the friendlies against Honduras on June 6 in Texas and Iceland on June 9 in Alabama.
Once in the tournament, the Albiceleste will be in Group J, along with Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. Their participation will start on Tuesday, June 16 against the Africans at the Kansas City Stadium, then they will face the Europeans on Monday, June 22 at the Dallas Stadium, and finally close the first phase with their match against the Asians on Saturday, June 27, again in Kansas.
The 26 players called up from Argentina for the 2026 World Cup
Goalkeepers:
1. Juan Musso (Atlético de Madrid)
12. Gerónimo Rulli (Olympique de Marseille)
23. Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa)
Defenders:
2. Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique de Marseille)
3. Nicolás Tagliafico (Olympique de Lyon)
4. Gonzalo Montiel (River)
6. Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United)
13. Cristian Romero (Tottenham)
19. Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica*)
25. Facundo Medina (Olympique de Marseille)
