Meet the new Argentina World Cup squad; almost the same as the old Argentina World Cup squad.
The defending champions have changed little since that dramatic triumph over France at Qatar 2022 — 17 of the group that manager Lionel Scaloni took to the title are now heading to the U.S., Mexico and Canada, and it was nearly 20 as midfielder Giovani Lo Celso and utility player Nico González were squad fixtures who only missed the last World Cup because of injury, while defender Juan Foyth is this year’s injury casualty.
So who is out? Who is in? And what does it all mean? Is such continuity a cause for celebration or concern?
Of the nine players from Qatar who miss out, Foyth is the only one under the age of 30. So there has been a natural process of renovation. Some of the veterans came close to inclusion — left back Marcos Acuña, for example — while others have fallen by the wayside, such as holding midfielder Guido Rodríguez, attacking midfielder Alejandro Gómez and striker Paulo Dybala, who was never really able to fit in.
In only one case was the absence of a veteran not the choice of Scaloni. Now 38, winger Ángel Di María would still be an important member of the squad had he not decided to retire from internationals after winning the Copa América in 2024. And replacing him remains a headache for the coach. Di Maria had a combination of virtues that are impossible to substitute. He was — and remains for Rosario Central — an individual genius without the ego of a superstar, always ready to tailor his role to what the team needed and, time and time again, proved decisive on the big occasion.
In the absence of all that, Scaloni would be happy with someone as incisive as Di María in one vs. one situations — a dribbler to spice up a passing side. At the start of the post-Qatar cycle, there were hopes that Chelsea winger Alejandro Garnacho might be that man, but he has not developed as hoped; Napoli’s hard-running forward Giuliano Simeone, who was in contention for Qatar, has now grown in importance.
But it will be interesting to see how much faith is put in two youngsters: Strasbourg’s Valentín Barco (who is reportedly set to move to Chelsea) has some of Di María’s attacking versatility, with the capacity to crop up across the midfield and forward lines, while promising Como star Nico Paz is also one to watch. It could be the case that Paz’s time will truly come in the post-Messi era — he is a player who prefers the ball played to his feet rather than in front of him, so it has not been easy to knit him into the team — but his quality could certainly make a difference in a World Cup when he can punish tiring defenses after coming off the bench.
Indeed, Argentina can be expected to wear down many of their opponents as they have a fine crop of passing midfielders who should now be coming into their prime. The midfield was the easiest part of the squad for Scaloni to select. He merely had to hit “repeat” and add Lo Celso, whose injury just before the Qatar campaign was seen as a major blow at the time. But the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernández grew with that extra responsibility, so now Scaloni has plenty of options.
Julián Álvarez, who became first choice during Qatar 2022, is now arguably even more important to Argentina’s attack than Messi, who will turn 39 during the course of this summer’s tournament. Alvarez can do Messi’s running for him when they play together, he can act as the spearhead in front of a packed midfield, or he can drop into Messi’s No. 10 role and open up space for Lautaro Martínez to come in at center forward. Though a key question is how much stamina he has left after a long season for Atlético Madrid, while transfer rumors continue to circle around his club future.
The remaining center-forward option is another newcomer, the left-footed Juan Manuel “Flaco” Lopez, whose game has developed significantly in Brazil with Palmeiras.
Through most of the side, continuity is a virtue; Scaloni’s Argentina have both a set identity and a number of variations, and they know exactly what they are trying to do. But the coach must surely have hoped for a few more changes in his defensive unit.
Argentina came close to collapsing under pressure in 2022 against Australia, Netherlands, and again in the final with France, where only a last-minute wonder save from Emiliano Martínez prevented an undeserved defeat. It is a worry, then, that no new defenders have emerged in the group since.
Scaloni has had a look at a few, bringing the likes of Kevin Lomonaco, Mariano Troilo and Tomás Palacios into his squad. But none have convinced. So Argentina go to this World Cup with the same defensive unit they took to Qatar.
Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel will battle to be the starting right back; Nicolás Tagliafico is at left (where González and Barco can also play); with Cristian Romero and the eternal Nicolás Otamendi (now 38) in the middle. The backup options come from Lisandro Martínez (again), Leo Balerdi and Facundo Medina, who, in one of the toughest choices Scaloni had to take, just squeezes out Marcos Senesi.
Remarkably, not a single player who started more than one game in World Cup qualification has been left out of the final squad. This, then, is the Scaloni family; the group that added the World Cup and Copa América to their trophy cabinet, and finished nine points clear at the top of South America’s qualification table.
A new era is coming, once the World Cup is over and Messi finally leaves the stage, but for the next few weeks, a candidate for the most successful squad in Argentina’s history has the chance to add yet more success. History suggests that this one will be the most difficult yet, but if they fail to win the 2026 World Cup, it will not be for any lack of experience.
