Argentina faces a major setback ahead of their crucial World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil. Alongside captain Lionel Messi, they will also be without Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Montiel, and Giovani Lo Celso due to injuries. Lisandro Martínez was already ruled out earlier.
Dybala, who had impressed for AS Roma, earned a recall to the preliminary squad. However, he suffered a muscle injury during a match against Cagliari, forcing him to miss yet another international break. Frequent injuries have kept him sidelined from Argentina’s matches on multiple occasions.
Manchester United defender Lisandro Martínez remains out for the long term and was not even included in the preliminary squad. Montiel, the defender who scored Argentina’s decisive penalty in the 2022 World Cup final against France, is also ruled out due to injury. Meanwhile, Lo Celso is absent due to fitness issues.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni announced a 26-man squad on Monday for the upcoming qualifiers. Notably, Alejandro Garnacho, Claudio Echeverri, and Francisco Ortega were dropped from the preliminary squad, while Máximo Perrone, Benjamín Domínguez, Santiago Castro, and Giuliano Simeone made the final cut.
Fixture & Qualification Scenario
Argentina will face Uruguay away on Saturday (Bangladesh time) before hosting Brazil three days later. If they win both matches, the reigning world champions could secure their spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the first team from South America.
Currently, Argentina leads the standings with 25 points from 12 matches, followed by Uruguay with 20 points. Five-time world champions Brazil sit in fifth place with 18 points.
Argentina Squad for World Cup Qualifiers
Goalkeepers:
- Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa)
- Walter Benítez (PSV Eindhoven)
- Gerónimo Rulli (Olympique Marseille)
Defenders:
- Nahuel Molina (Atlético Madrid)
- Juan Foyth (Villarreal)
- Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Germán Pezzella (Real Betis)
- Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique Marseille)
- Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica)
- Facundo Medina (Lens)
- Nicolás Tagliafico (Lyon)
Midfielders:
- Leandro Paredes (Roma)
- Enzo Fernández (Chelsea)
- Rodrigo De Paul (Atlético Madrid)
- Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)
- Máximo Perrone (Como)
- Giuliano Simeone (Atlético Madrid)
- Benjamín Domínguez (Bologna)
- Thiago Almada (Lyon)
- Nicolás Paz (Como)
Forwards:
- Nicolás González (Juventus)
- Ángel Correa (Atlético Madrid)
- Julián Álvarez (Manchester City)
- Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan)
- Santiago Castro (Bologna)
