Argentina call up Valentin Barco, Geronimo Rulli and Leonardo Balerdi, but omit Joaquin Panichelli | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, Lionel Scaloni has named a 28-man Argentina squad for the 31 March friendly against Guatemala at La Bombonera, including Valentin Barco, Geronimo Rulli and Leonardo Balerdi, but not Joaquin Panichelli.

This is the final camp with less than three months until the World Cup, which runs from 11 June to 19 July.

Rulli and Balerdi of Marseille are included, as are Lyon’s Nicolas Tagliafico and Strasbourg’s Barco. Tagliafico, a world champion, has 74 caps, while Barco, 21, will aim for a second cap after featuring in a 3-0 win over El Salvador in March 2024.

Balerdi, 27, capped 11 times, remains a regular under Scaloni despite recent struggles, including errors in the 0-5 Classique defeat by PSG in early February, a missed penalty against Toulouse in the Cup and the loss of the armband to Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg after Habib Beye’s arrival. Rulli, 33, has 7 caps.

Panichelli, 23, capped once in November 2025, is not recalled despite Lautaro Martinez being injured and the squad expanding from 24 to 28. Captain Lionel Messi is present, with the returns of Leandro Paredes or Emiliano Martinez and a call-up for Gianluca Prestianni, 20, who earned his first cap in November.

Argentina were due to play the Finalissima against Spain, the European champions, but declined once the match was moved to Madrid. Doha, the original host city, cannot stage the game because of the war in the Middle East.

Source: L'Équipe