Argentina announced their 29-man squad for their upcoming friendlies before the Copa America, with Lionel Messi leading the team. However, forward Paulo Dybala, who has been dealing with injuries, did not make the cut. The team will face Ecuador on June 9th at Soldier Field Stadium in Chicago and Guatemala five days later at Commanders Field in Washington.
Coach Lionel Scaloni will need to trim the squad down to 26 players, as per CONMEBOL regulations for the Copa America, which begins on June 20th.
In addition to Messi and other players from the 2022 World Cup-winning team, such as Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi, Scaloni has included young talents like Leonardo Balerdi, Valentin Barco, Alejandro Garnacho, and Valentin Carboni.
Notably absent from the squad is AS Roma forward Dybala, who has been sidelined due to various injuries in previous international matches.
Argentina will kick off their Copa America campaign against Canada on June 20th, followed by matches against Chile and Peru on June 25th and June 29th, respectively. The tournament, held in the United States, will run until July 14th.
Here is the complete Argentina squad:
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani (River Plate), Geronimo Rulli (Ajax), and Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique de Marseille), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), and Valentin Barco (Brighton)
Midfielders: Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Leandro Paredes (Roma), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayern Leverkusen), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), and Valentin Carboni (AC Monza)
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), and Julian Alvarez (Manchester City.