Lionel Messi is officially locked in to anchor his historic, career-defining final World Cup campaign. In a highly anticipated announcement, manager Lionel Scaloni finalized Argentina’s 26-man roster for the tournament in North America, with established global superstars Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez headlining a loaded squad.
While international media outlets widely expected Scaloni to withhold the roster drop until Friday, May 29, the Argentine master tactician caught the soccer world by surprise, by releasing the official list a day early on Thursday published across the Argentine Football Association’s (AFA) social media channels.
The tournament marks a monumental milestone for the Inter Miami captain. By stepping onto the pitch in North America, Messi will officially establish an unprecedented all-time record by competing in his sixth career World Cup—a legendary longevity milestone he is slated to share with his longtime eternal rival, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
In a bold move to refresh the squad, Scaloni made the difficult decision to leave out several key figures who helped lift the trophy in Qatar four years ago. Aside from the mandatory absences of legendary winger Angel Di Maria and veteran goalkeeper Franco Armani—both of whom retired from international soccer—and the injured fullback Juan Foyth, the coaching staff opted to cut six active world champions from the traveling roster.
Due to tactical decisions and recent form, Marcos Acuña, German Pezzella, Alejandro Gomez, Guido Rodriguez, Angel Correa, and Paulo Dybala have all been left off the flight to North America, missing out on the chance to defend their global crown.
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Perhaps the most shocking omissions from Scaloni’s final squad list came from the English Premier League. Both Emiliano Buendia and Marcos Senesi were left out of the final roster, as they were widely projected to lock in their spots on the plane to North America following stellar individual campaigns.
Official 2026 Argentina World Cup roster
Goalkeepers
- Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa)
- Gerónimo Rulli (Olympique de Marseille)
- Juan Musso (Atlético de Madrid)
Defenders
- Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate)
- Nahuel Molina (Atlético de Madrid)
- Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United)
- Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica)
- Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique de Marseille)
- Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Facundo Medina (Olympique de Marseille)
- Nicolás Tagliafico (Olympique de Lyon)
Midfielders
- Leandro Paredes (Boca Juniors)
- Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami)
- Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Enzo Fernández (Chelsea)
- Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)
- Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis)
- Valentín Barco (Racing Club de Strasbourg)
Forwards
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
- Nico Paz (Como 1907)
- Thiago Almada (Atlético de Madrid)
- Nicolás González (Atlético de Madrid)
- Giuliano Simeone (Atlético de Madrid)
- Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan)
- José Manuel López (Palmeiras)
- Julián Álvarez (Atlético de Madrid)
Roster newcomers
The tournament will mark a massive milestone for a hungry group of tournament debutants. Scaloni has integrated fresh blood into the squad, giving seven players their very first career World Cup call-ups: Leonardo Balerdi, Facundo Medina, Valentin Barco, Giuliano Simeone, Nico Paz and Jose Lopez.
