Lionel Messi will captain Argentina in what will be his sixth World Cup, with the 39-year-old named in Lionel Scaloni’s 26-man squad four days after his withdrawal from an MLS game sparked fears of an injury.
Messi came off in the 73rd minute of Inter Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia Union on Monday. However, talk of an injury was swiftly rejected by his club, who claimed Messi was suffering from “muscle fatigue” in his left hamstring.
And, with the MLS season now paused for the World Cup, Messi can look forward to leading Argentina in their title defence, in what will almost certainly be his last appearance at the tournament.
Messi has 198 caps for Argentina and will reach 200 before the World Cup if he features in both of their pre-tournament friendlies against Honduras and Iceland.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is in the squad after fracturing his ring finger while warming up for Aston Villa ahead of the Europa League final last week. Similarly, defender Cristian Romero is set to play a key role despite missing Tottenham’s successful fight for Premier League survival with a knee injury.
Martinez’s Villa team-mate Emi Buendia is among those to miss out, with Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni another notable omission.
Prestianni would have missed the first two games of the tournament after his ban for alleged homophobic abuse aimed at Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior was extended globally by FIFA.
Real Madrid’s Franco Mastantuono was another not selected after the 18-year-old made 35 appearances in his debut season with Los Blancos.
Argentina open their World Cup campaign against Algeria on June 16. They will then face Austria and Jordan in Group J.
Argentina squad in full
Goalkeepers: Juan Musso (Atletico 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), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Facundo Medina (Marseille), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid).
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (River Plate), Rodrigo de Paul (Inter Miami), Valentin Barco (Strasbourg), Giovani lo Celso (Real Betis), Ezequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea).
Forwards: Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Nicolas Gonzalez (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Almada (Atletico Madrid), Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Nico Paz (Como), Jose Manuel Lopez (Palmeiras), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan).
