BUENOS AIRES (ARGENTINA) (ITALPRESS) – Lionel Messi will captain his country at his sixth World Cup, followed by the “Italians” Lautaro Martinez and Nico Paz. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has announced the 26-man squad that will begin next month in the Americas to defend the 2022 World Cup title won in Qatar.
There are no major surprises compared to the 55-man pre-selection (Real Madrid’s Mastantuono, for example, is excluded).
Scaloni has retained 17 players who lifted the World Cup four years ago, while eight—including Nico Paz—will be playing for the first time at a World Cup. Lo Celso, who was absent in the Middle East but was in the squad for Russia 2018, completes the roster. In the group with Algeria, Austria, and Jordan, the Seleccion will play two friendlies in the United States, on June 6th against Honduras and on the 9th against Iceland.
Here’s the full list:
Goalkeepers: Juan Musso (Atlético Madrid), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa);
Defenders: Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Facundo Medina (Marseille), Nahuel Molina (Atlético Madrid);
Midfielders: Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Leandro Paredes (Boca Juniors), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Giovani Lo Celso (Betis Sevilla), Valentin Barco (Strasbourg);
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Thiago Almada (Atletico Madrid), Nico Paz (Como), Nico Gonzalez (Atletico Madrid), Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid), José Manuel Lopez (Palmeiras).
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
