Lionel Messi's final World Cup squad: Every player in Argentina's 2026 selection (original) (raw)

Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina celebrates a goal during the international friendly match between Argentina and Iceland at Jordan-Hare Stadium on June 9, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama

Lionel Messi scored a penalty in their 3-0 World Cup warm up game victory vs Iceland (Image credit: Getty Images)

Argentina have played their final World Cup warm-up game (defeating Iceland 3-0) and now the La Albiceleste can officially begin to defend their crown.

Naturally, Lionel Scaloni arrived at World Cup 2026 with one of the best squads at the tournament, as Argentina seek to win a fourth edition of this competition and become the first team to defend the trophy since 1962.

Scaloni has chosen a squad that balances roughly two-thirds of the proven winners from Qatar with a handful of dynamic new faces.

The headline news is that eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, ranked at no.1 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest players of all time, will compete in his sixth World Cup, after appearing in the last five.

Cristian Romero, meanwhile, is included – despite suffering a high-grade partial tear of his medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee last month – while 33-year-old Emiliano Martinez may be playing his final World Cup.

There are three Premier League players included in the selection alongside Martinez and Romero: Alexis Mac Allister, Lisandro Martinez Enzo Fernandez, is one of the more senior players this time around.

Two exciting young prospects made the plane too, with Nico Paz the standout, alongside Valentine Barco. But the average age of the squad is 28.62.

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The Mood

Members of Argentina men's national team arrive for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at Kansas City International Airport

Argentina's squad arrived at Kansas City International Airport on May 31 to begin their title defence (Image credit: Getty Images)

For Argentina, there has never been an easier build-up to a World Cup than this one. Fans are still basking in the memories of Qatar 2022, as well as the Copa America triumphs of 2021 and 2024. Lionel Scaloni is a borderline saint. The Albiceleste’s most beloved players – Lionel Messi, Emiliano Martinez and Julian Alvarez – appear in murals across the country. Good results have kept coming, including a memorable Messi-less 4-1 demolition of bitter rivals Brazil in qualifying. They are tactically adaptable, sometimes playing a standard 4-3-3, or a funkier 4-3-1-2 with Messi and either Alvarez or Lautaro Martinez up alongside.

On top of that, a World Cup group containing Algeria, Jordan and Austria is, on paper, very favourable. So, Argentina’s dominance is sure to continue, right? Not quite.

They are without Angel Di Maria, two years after El Fideo’s post-Copa America international retirement, with few players as reliable or decisive in big moments. Scaloni remains searching for alternatives, having deployed Nico Gonzalez, Giuliano Simeone, Nico Paz, and wonderkids Franco Mastantuono and Valentin Carboni, who is injured.

For a manager willing to experiment with personnel and formation, the Argentine FA’s choice of friendlies has not been ideal. The world champions’ suits opted for low FIFA-ranking opponents in remote locations instead of European teams that could have provided stronger tests and yielded more valuable conclusions.

The indestructible bond between fans and the team isn’t exactly mirrored between Scaloni and the higher-ups, with a contract extension not yet confirmed and a clear possibility of the manager seeking a new challenge after the World Cup. For AFA president Claudio Tapia, who once portrayed himself as part of the squad, the situation is not easy. Marred by corruption allegations, he is not allowed to leave the country without judge approval. In the past year, Tapia has also become the antagonist of Argentina’s loose-cannon president, Javier Milei, raising the risk of a politicised World Cup with the players caught in the middle.

Will this affect the atmosphere inside Argentina’s camp in Kansas City? Probably not, as long as neither crosses a line and tries to involve the players as political footballs.

Squad

Argentina World Cup 2026 squad

Fixtures

Fixtures

Recent results

Group J standings

Argentina are in Group J at World Cup 2026.

Manager

Who is Argentina's manager?

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni holds the World Cup trophy aloft after victory over France at Qatar 2022.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni holds the World Cup trophy aloft after victory over France at Qatar 2022. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Lionel Scaloni has led Argentina in an incredibly successful period for the nation.

He has won three major trophies in a row, Copa America, World Cup and another Copa America, ending their droughts in both competitions.

His team selections have been aided by some outstanding performances at club level, and well, having Lionel Messi at his disposal.

Argentina's Star Player

Who is Argentina's star player?

Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the international friendly match between Argentina and Zambia in Buenos Aires

Lionel Messi, the greatest player of all time? Perhaps (Image credit: Getty Images)

Not much is left to be said about Lionel Messi. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner reached the summit of football when he lifted the 2022 World Cup, firmly cementing his status as one of the greats.

Messi ranked at no.1 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest players of all time, and has been a huge part of Argentina winning the Copa America back-to-back, with the World Cup sandwiched in between.

The Argentine icon had thought that victory in Qatar would be his last World Cup - but he is included again, and could earn his 200th cap for his country during the tournament if he hasn't already in their pre-tournament friendlies.

Best XI

Award-winning Argentinian football writer and professor of journalism. From El Gráfico to La Gazzetta dello Sport, BBC Sport, 11Freunde and The Players’ Tribune, his work has been published in more than 25 countries and translated into 20 languages. He fell in love with FourFourTwo at the end of the last century, on his first visit to Britain, and has been a correspondent since 2000. He has covered four World Cups and one Olympic Games. A devoted follower of European football, he still dreams of attending a Champions League final and visiting Anfield. Director of the AIPS Sport Media Awards, the leading international prize in sports journalism, he is also a very good player... on Football Manager