Benfica player misses 2026 World Cup after manager snub | OneFootball

The Argentina national team has announced its final squad for the 2026 World Cup, and Lionel Scaloni has once again relied on the core that won the title in Qatar. Nicolás Otamendi is also among the coach’s picks, unlike Gianluca Prestianni.

Despite being included in the extended preliminary list, the Benfica forward did not survive the final cuts. In midfield, Argentina has kept the World Cup-winning core almost entirely intact, with names such as Enzo Fernández, who also played for the Lisbon club.

The list also includes some younger faces, such as Valentín Barco and Nico Paz, who continue to gain ground in Scaloni’s squad. Up front, besides Messi, special mention goes to Lautaro Martínez and Julián Álvarez, the duo expected to take on much of the South American team’s attacking responsibility.

Argentina heads into the World Cup as one of the main favorites to win the trophy, looking to defend the title won in 2022, in a highly emotional final against France that ended in a 4-2 victory on penalties.

It is worth mentioning that Gianluca Prestianni, had he been called up to represent Argentina at the World Cup, already knew that, due to the suspension imposed by UEFA and later extended by FIFA, he would miss the first two matches against Algeria and Austria.

Squad list:

Goalkeepers: Juan Musso (Atl. Madrid), Gerónimo Rulli (Marseille) and Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa);

Defenders: Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Montiel (River Plate), Lisandro Martínez (Man. United), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Otamendi (Benfica), Cristian Medina (Botafogo) and Nahuel Molina (Atl. Madrid);

Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Boca Juniors), Thiago Almada (Atl. Madrid), Rodrigo de Paul (Inter Miami), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Giovani Lo Celso (Betis), MacAllister (Liverpool), Enzo Fernández (Chelsea), Valentin Barco (Strasbourg);

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan), Giuliano Simeone (Atl. Madrid), Nico Paz (Como), Julián Alvarez (Atl. Madrid), Flaco Lopez (Palmeiras) and Nico González (Atl. Madrid).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.