Who’s fighting for Argentina’s final 2026 World Cup squad | OneFootball

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni finalized the 55-man preliminary list for the 2026 World Cup, from which the final 26 call-ups will be chosen and announced on June 11. However, according to information obtained by TyCSports.com, there are 22 names that, barring any surprises, already have their spot secured at the World Cup. Over the next month, the coaching staff will have to settle the remaining four open places.

The 22 confirmed Argentina national team players for the World Cup Goalkeepers

1: Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa) 2: Gerónimo Rulli (Olympique de Marseille) Defenders

3: Nahuel Molina (Atlético de Madrid) 4: Gonzalo Montiel (River) 5: Cristian Romero (Tottenham) 6: Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United) 7: Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique de Marseille) 8: Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica) 9: Nicolás Tagliafico (Olympique Lyon) Midfielders

10: Leandro Paredes (Boca) 11: Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool) 12: Enzo Fernández (Chelsea) 13: Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami) 14: Nicolás González (Atlético de Madrid) 15: Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen) 16: Nicolás Paz (Como) 17: Thiago Almada (Atlético de Madrid) Forwards

18: Giuliano Simeone (Atlético de Madrid) 19: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) 20: Julián Álvarez (Atlético de Madrid) 21: Lautaro Martínez (Inter) 22: José López (Palmeiras) As for the spots still to be decided, the first is that of the third goalkeeper. The battle is between Juan Musso and Walter Benítez, although the Crystal Palace player has not seen action for quite some time and, even though the former Racing man is Jan Oblak’s backup at Atlético de Madrid, he got plenty of playing time in March and April due to his teammate’s injury, and his good form puts him ahead to be present at the tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen who will be the fifth center back to serve as an option behind Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, and Leonardo Balerdi. That spot is currently being contested head-to-head by Marcos Senesi and Facundo Medina. The 29-year-old former San Lorenzo player is a starter at Bournemouth and got minutes in the most recent friendlies, while the Olympique de Marseille defender did not, but the advantage for the River academy product is that he can also play at left back, and that could tip the scales if Scaloni decides to take only Tagliafico as a natural No. 3.

At the same time, if in addition to the Lyon captain the coaching staff decides to take a left back as his replacement, the battle is between Marcos Acuña and Gabriel Rojas. The former River player has the edge in experience, because he has been a regular throughout the cycle from the start and was part of the World Cup-winning squad in Qatar. He has raised his level in recent matches for River, although the Racing player, who has delivered strong performances for La Academia in recent years, is also an option.

Up to this point, there would be only one spot left to complete the squad, although one possible alternative is that neither Acuña nor Rojas is called up and that place goes to a player who is currently considered a midfielder but has a past as a left back, such as Valentín Barco. In that case, it should be taken into account that Scaloni has previously used Nicolás González as a left back.

Otherwise, Barco will have to battle Giovani Lo Celso for a place at the World Cup. The Betis midfielder has been part of the entire process, although he missed the last World Cup because of an injury. The former Rosario Central player was not called up for the last FIFA international window due to injury, but he has a very good chance of making it. Other options besides them are Franco Mastantuono, who currently has less of a role at Real Madrid, Máximo Perrone of Como, and Gianluca Prestianni, whose six-match suspension for insults aimed at Vinicius could hurt his chances and leave him out.

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