With captain Lionel Messi in the squad, the world champions have announced their preliminary team for the World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador.
Shining in club football, striker José Manuel López has earned his first-ever call-up to the Argentina national team. Attacking midfielder Valentín Carboni also makes his return after a long absence. Both are part of the preliminary squad named for the qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador.
On Monday, the Argentine Football Association revealed a 31-man preliminary squad for next month’s two matches. As expected, captain Lionel Messi is included.
Midfielder Enzo Fernández, who received a red card against Colombia in June and is serving a two-match suspension, has not been named. Paulo Dybala also misses out once again.
Newcomer López has been one of Palmeiras’ standout players this season. The 24-year-old forward has scored 15 goals and provided four assists in 42 appearances.
Along with Carboni, the squad sees the return of Julio Soler, Alan Varela, Claudio Echeverri, Gonzalo Montiel, and Marcos Acuña. However, Valentín Barco and Nicolás Domínguez are left out.
Carboni, 20, returns to the squad almost a year after suffering a serious knee injury that kept him sidelined for a long spell. The attacking midfielder, who recently made his comeback at the Club World Cup, has so far played three matches for Argentina.
Having already secured their place at the 2026 World Cup, Argentina will face Venezuela at home on September 4 before traveling to Ecuador on September 9.
Argentina currently top the South American qualifying table with 35 points from 16 matches. Ecuador sit second with 25 points and have also booked their spot at the World Cup. Venezuela are seventh with 18 points in the 10-team group.
The top six teams from this region will qualify directly for the World Cup.
Argentina preliminary squad
Goalkeepers
Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa), Gerónimo Rulli (Olympique Marseille), Walter Benítez (Crystal Palace)
Defenders
Nahuel Molina (Atlético Madrid), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique Marseille), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica), Facundo Medina (Olympique Marseille), Nicolás Tagliafico (Lyon), Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate), Marcos Acuña (River Plate), Julio Soler (Bournemouth)
Midfielders
Leandro Paredes (Boca Juniors), Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alan Varela (Porto), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Thiago Almada (Atlético Madrid), Nicolás Paz (Como), Valentín Carboni (Genoa)
Forwards
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Julián Álvarez (Atlético Madrid), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan), Nicolás González (Juventus), Giuliano Simeone (Atlético Madrid), Ángel Correa (Atlético Madrid), Claudio Echeverri (Manchester City), Franco Mastantuono (Real Madrid), José Manuel López (Palmeiras)
