The coach of the Argentine national team, Lionel Scaloni, announced Thursday that the squad has called for the debut of the Albiceleste in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, on a double day where they will face Ecuador and Bolivia. Leo leads the list with four novelties.
Among those mentioned are Atlético Madrid players, Nahuel Molina, Rodrigo de Paul and Angel Correathat of Betis German Pezzella and Guido Rodriguez and from Villarreal John Foyth.
In addition to the prominent Qatar 2022 champions, scaloni with the Italian Fiorentina striker Lucas Beltran; the extreme Alan Velasco, of American FC Dallas; in the midfielder Bruno Zapelli and the defender Lucas Esquivelboth from Brazilian Paranaense.
The four are also on the list of Javier Mascherano, U-23 coach, who called them up for the Pre-Olympic to be played in Venezuela at the beginning of the year and will provide two spots for the Paris 2024 Games.
However, Scaloni indicated on August 11 that he had the Pre-Olympic in mind and wanted to include a joint list with Mascherano so he can enjoy the players too.
For now, the absolute must face Ecuador on September 7 at the Estadio Mas Monumental de River Plate, with a capacity for 84,000 spectators, and then they have to play against Bolivia at Hernando Siles de La Paz, of The Strongest, with capacity for 41,000 people.
Barya, come down
The only loss expected is that of the defender Marcos Acuna, who suffered a “myotendinous injury to the femoral biceps of his right leg”, Sevilla reported in a statement from his medical team.
In 2026, FIFA incorporated changes to its World Cup format, bringing the number of countries to 48 in the World Cup, to be played in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
FIFA envisions 104 matches to be played, up from 64, over 39 days, which includes a round of 16 opportunity, meaning the eventual champions and runners-up will have to play of eight duels instead of seven.
Scaloni squad list
Goalkeepers: Juan Musso (Atalanta-ITA), Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa-GBR), Walter Benítez (PSV-NED) and Franco Armani (River Plate).
Defenses: Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid-ESP), Germán Pezzella (Betis-ESP), Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest-GBR), Juan Foyth (Villarreal-ESP), Marcos Senesi (Bournemouth-GBR), Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United-GBR ) , Cristian Romero (Tottenham-GBR), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica-POR), Nicolás Tagliafico (Olympique Lyon-FRA) and Lucas Esquivel (Athletico Paranaense-BRA).
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (AS Roma-ITA), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid-ESP), Guido Rodríguez (Betis-ESP), Facundo Buonanotte (Brighton-GBR), Enzo Fernández (Chelsea-GBR), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool- GBR ), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer 04-GER), Bruno Zapelli (Athletico Paranaense-BRA), Alan Velasco (FC Dallas-USA) and Thiago Almada (Atlanta United-USA).
Forward: Lucas Beltrán (Fiorentina, ITA), Nicolás González (Fiorentin-ITA), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan-ITA), Ángel Correa (Atlético de Madrid-ESP), Julián Álvarez (Manchester City-GBR), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United . GBR), Ángel Di María (Benfica- POR) and Lionel Messi (Inter Miami-USA).
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
