Lionel Scaloni, Argentina’s Coach, Announced the Preliminary List of 55 Players Called up to Compete in the World Cup

The head coach, Lionel Scaloni, has presented a preliminary list of players called up to compete in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Closer to the World Cup, and there are names already.

A month before the start of the 2026 World Cup, the silence broke like a lightning bolt over Ezeiza. Without a crowded press conference. Without fanfare. Just a list. Fifty-five names. Fifty-five stories suspended between dreams and abandonment. And behind each surname, a question that is already circulating throughout all of Argentina: Who will be the 26 chosen to defend the crown?

New names and an unmovable one

The Argentine Football Association revealed the preliminary list compiled by Lionel Scaloni for the World Cup to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. And although Lionel Messi's name appears as the inevitable beacon of the Albiceleste expedition, the true magic lies in the margins. In the unexpected. In those that appear almost like a whisper among giants.

Argentine soccer is on the list

There are twelve players from Argentine soccer. Twelve signs that Scaloni still listens to the murmur of the local stands, that he still looks at the mud, the pressure, and the hot nights at the Monumental and the Bombonera.
River Plate contributes six names. Santiago Beltrán, Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Germán Pezzella, Marcos Acuña, and Aníbal Moreno appear as pieces of a backbone that know battles, finals, and scars. On the other side, Boca Juniors leaves four marks on the list: Lautaro Di Lollo, Leandro Paredes, Milton Delgado, and Tomás Aranda. Youth, experience, and the feeling that any training session can change a destiny, Racing Club contributes their goalkeeper Facundo Cambeses and the defender Gabriel Rojas.

We are not there yet

But Scaloni's lists are never completely predictable; they always hide a secret door. There emerges the name of Nicolás Capaldo, the former Boca player who now travels through Germany wearing the Hamburger SV jersey. Capaldo had never been officially called up, he had never appeared on the main stage, and yet, there he is. Like Zaid Romero, a defender who emerged from Godoy Cruz and found refuge and growth at Getafe CF. Or Mateo Pellegrino, a quiet forward at Parma Calcio 1913, whose name suddenly appeared among established figures, as if the coach wanted to leave an invisible hint about the future.
There are also the young players who live between promise and urgency. Alejandro Garnacho is still seeking continuity at Chelsea FC. Matías Soulé, on fire at AS Roma. And even Gianluca Prestianni, still embroiled in controversy after the extension of his sanction for homophobic insults against Vinícius Júnior in the Champions League, is equally considered by a coach who seems to look beyond the external noise.

Argentina's last challenges

The feeling is strange. As if Scaloni were writing a final letter before crossing the ocean. As the different leagues around the world slowly draw to a close, the summoned players will begin to arrive at the AFA facility in Ezeiza. One by one. In silence. With suitcases loaded with pressure. From there, they will head to Kansas, the city chosen as the Argentine refuge during the World Cup.

Before the debut, there will be two final rehearsals. Honduras and Iceland will be the rivals of the world champion on June 6 and 9, in Texas and Alabama. Two nights that will serve as the final mirror. Two opportunities to convince. Two matches where every minute can alter someone's destiny.

Because the clock is already ticking.

And on June 16, when Argentina faces the Algerian team at the Kansas City Chiefs stadium for the opening of Group J, there will be no room for mysteries.

Only the chosen ones will remain.