Lionel Messi can officially prepare for the World Cup in Qatar. National coach Lionel Scaloni has included the star player of Paris Saint-Germain in his 26-man selection, which also includes ex-Ajacieds Lisandro Martínez and Nicolás Tagliafico. Paulo Dybala has also received an invitation. The call for the latter is striking, as the technician played his last game on October 9.
On that day, AS Roma’s tastemaker dropped out with a muscle injury in the match against Lecce (2-1 victory). Yet la Joya included in Scaloni’s squad. Particularly in the vanguard, Argentina seems to possess its most important assets. In addition to Messi, Lautaro Martínez and ngel Di María have also been selected, while space has been made available in midfield for, among others, Leandro Paredes and Rodrigo De Paul.
#Qatar2022 Nuestro entrenador @lioscalonic dio a conocer la nómina de jugadores que nos representarán en esta nueva edición de la @FIFAWorldCup. ¡Con ustedes los elegidos! ???????????#TodosJuntos ???? pic.twitter.com/qUeY2uygVv
— Seleccion Argentina ???? (@Argentina) Nov 11, 2022
The Argentines will begin the global final tournament on November 22, when Saudi Arabia will face off at the Lusail Iconic Stadium. After that game, Argentina will also play in Group C against Mexico (November 26) and Poland (November 30). The World Cup will be Messi’s last opportunity to lift the World Cup. The 35-year-old star previously played a World Cup final in 2014. Then it went wrong because a goal by former PSV player Mario Götze lost 1-0 to Germany.
Argentina’s full World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Franco Armani (River Plate), Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal).
Defenders: Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica), Marcos Acuña (Seville), Nicolás Tagliafico (Olympique Lyon), Germán Pezzella (Real Betis), Nahuel Molina (Atlético Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (Seville), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur ), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United).
Midfielders: Leandro Peredes (Juventus), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Guido Rodríguez (Real Betis), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton & Hove Albion), Enzo Fernández (Benfica), Alejandro Gómez (Atlanta United) .
Attackers: Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan), Paulo Dybala (AS Roma), Joaquín Correa (Atletico Madrid), Julián Álvarez (Manchester City), ngel Di María (Juventus), Nicolás González (Fiorentina).