Nicolas Otamendi and Lionel Messi lead Argentina's squad for the World Cup

Lionel Messi, who is making his sixth and final World Cup appearance, leads Argentina's squad of 26, which also features Nicolas Otamendi. The centre back has left Benfica after six seasons and is now joining River Plate.

In contrast, Gianluca Prestianni, a 20 year old winger from Benfica with one international cap, and Alan Varela, a 24 year old FC Porto midfielder with two senior call ups, were both omitted from the final selection despite being included in the initial provisional squad of 55 players.

Had he been chosen, Prestianni would have faced a suspension for the first two matches of the tournament because of homophobic behaviour directed at Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior during a Champions League match at Lisbon's Estadio da Luz in February.

Scaloni has retained the core of the team from the 2022 World Cup, including goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, defenders Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Otamendi and Nicolas Tagliafico, midfielders Rodrigo de Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and Leandro Paredes, and forwards Lisandro Martinez, Julian Alvarez and Messi.

Scaloni has also introduced new faces, bringing in youngsters such as Nico Paz, Valentin Barco and Giuliano Simeone, but Mantantuono from Real Madrid is a notable absence.

Argentina will meet Algeria, Austria and Jordan in Group J of the 2026 World Cup, which takes place from 11 June to 19 July across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Argentina squad list:

Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille), Juan Musso (Atletico de Madrid).

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate), Nahuel Molina (Atletico de Madrid), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Facundo Medina (Marseille).

Midfielders: Valentin Barco (Strasbourg), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Nico Paz (Como), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Leandro Paredes (Boca Juniors), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Nicolas Gonzalez (Atletico de Madrid), Giuliano Simeone (Atletico de Madrid), Thiago Almada (Atletico de Madrid).

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Julian Alvarez (Atletico de Madrid), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), and Flaco Lopez (Palmeiras).