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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.
FIXTURE ARGENTINA EN USA 2026
June 26th, 2026: Argentina vs. Argelia (Kansas City Stadium, 9 PM)
June 22nd, 2026: Argentina-Austria (Dallas Stadium, 1 PM)
June 27th, 2026: Argentina-Jordan (Kansas City Stadium, 10 PM)
La prelista de 55 jugadores de la selección argentina:
- EMILIANO MARTÍNEZ - Aston Villa
- GERÓNIMO RULLI - Olympique de Marseille
- JUAN MUSSO - Atlético de Madrid
- WALTER BENÍTEZ - Crystal Palace FC
- FACUNDO CAMBESES - Racing Club
- SANTIAGO BELTRAN - River Plate
- AGUSTÍN GIAY - Palmeiras
- GONZALO MONTIEL - River Plate
- NAHUEL MOLINA - Atlético de Madrid
- NICOLÁS CAPALDO - Hamburgo SV
- KEVIN MAC ALLISTER - Union Saint-Gilloise
- LUCAS MARTINEZ QUARTA - River Plate
- MARCOS SENESI - Bournemounth
- LISANDRO MARTÍNEZ - Manchester United
- NICOLÁS OTAMENDI - SL Benfica
- GERMÁN PEZZELLA - River Plate
- LEONARDO BALERDI - Olympique de Marseille
- CRISTIAN ROMERO - Tottenhman Hotspur
- LAUTARO DI LOLLO - Boca Juniors
- ZAID ROMERO - Getafe CF
- FACUNDO MEDINA - Olympique de Marseille
- MARCOS ACUÑA - River Plate
- NICOLÁS TAGLIAFICO - Olympique de Lyon
- GABRIEL ROJAS - Racing Club
- MÁXIMO PERRONE - Calcio Como 1907
- LEANDRO PAREDES - Boca Juniors
- GUIDO RODRÍGUEZ - Valencia CF
- ANÍBAL MORENO - River Plate
- MILTON DELGADO - Boca Juniors
- ALAN VARELA - FC Porto
- EZEQUIEL FERNÁNDEZ - Bayer Leverkusen
- RODRIGO DE PAUL - Inter de Miami
- EXEQUIEL PALACIOS - Bayer Leverkusen
- ENZO FERNÁNDEZ - Chelsea
- ALEXIS MAC ALLISTER - Liverpool
- GIOVANI LO CELSO - Real Betis
- NICOLÁS DOMÍNGUEZ - Nottingham Forest
- EMILIANO BUENDIA - Aston Villa
- VALENTÍN BARCO - Racing Club Strasbourg
- LIONEL MESSI - Inter de Miami
- NICOLÁS PAZ - Calcio Como 1907
- FRANCO MASTANTUONO - Real Madrid
- THIAGO ALMADA - Atlético Madrid
- TOMÁS ARANDA - Boca Juniors
- NICOLÁS GONZÁLEZ - Atlético Madrid
- ALEJANDRO GARNACHO - Chelsea
- GIULIANO SIMEONE - Atlético Madrid
- MATÍAS SOULÉ - AS Roma
- CLAUDIO ECHEVERRI - Girona Fútbol Club
- GIANLUCA PRESTIANNI - SL Benfica
- SANTIAGO CASTRO - Bologna FC
- LAUTARO MARTÍNEZ - Internazionale Milan
- JOSÉ MANUEL LÓPEZ - Palmeiras
- JULIÁN ÁLVAREZ - Atlético Madrid
- MATEO PELLEGRINO - Parma Calcio



















