Argentina captain Lionel Messi has been chosen for his sixth FIFA World Cup after being included within the nation’s 26-man squad for the 2026 event.
The 39-year-old ahead, who led Argentina to World Cup success in Qatar in 2022, was named in coach Lionel Scaloni’s squad on Thursday. Argentina beat France on penalties within the closing to win their third world title.
Messi, who holds the report for probably the most World Cup appearances with 26 matches, will now be part of Cristiano Ronaldo as the one male gamers to function in six World Cups.
The squad consists of a number of key gamers from Europe’s prime leagues, as Argentina intention to defend their title on the event in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Goalkeepers
Juan Musso (Atletico Madrid), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Defenders
Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Facundo Medina (Marseille), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders
Leandro Paredes (River Plate), Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami CF), Valentin Barco (Strasbourg), Giovani Lo Celso (Actual Betis), Ezequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea)
Forwards
Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF), Nicolas Gonzalez (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Almada (Atletico Madrid), Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Nico Paz (Como), Jose Manuel Lopez (Palmeiras), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Argentina will start their Group J marketing campaign towards Algeria in Kansas Metropolis on 17 June, earlier than going through Austria and Jordan in Dallas.
Messi not too long ago missed a part of an Inter Miami match as a result of muscle fatigue however is predicted to be match for the event.
Notable absentees embrace Emi Buendia, Paolo Dybala and Franco Mastantuono, whereas Gianluca Prestianni additionally misses out after a FIFA suspension ruling.
