"Lionel Messi has been named in Argentina's preliminary squad for the World Cup. Lionel Scaloni has named a 55-player group for now, which includes Messi, despite the Argentina captain not yet officially confirming that he will play at the tournament."
"Messi also holds the all-time record for most World Cup appearances, with 26 matches played. During their triumphant 2022 tournament in Qatar, Messi became the first player, alongside Kylian Mbappe, to record 10 direct goal involvements at a World Cup since Diego Maradona in 1986."
"Messi is also the only player in World Cup history to win the Golden Ball on two separate occasions (2014 and 2022), with the latter campaign seeing him become the first player on record (since 1966) to score and assist in three different games in a single edition."
"Tottenham's Cristian Romero, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the Premier League campaign, has also been named in the preliminary squad, along with Chelsea's Alejandro Garnacho and Como's Nico Paz. However, Roma's Paulo Dybala has missed out on the squad; he has not appeared for Argentina since 2024."
Lionel Messi has been named in Argentina’s 55-player preliminary squad for the 2026 World Cup. The squad is selected by Lionel Scaloni, and Messi’s inclusion comes before any official confirmation that he will play. Messi holds the all-time record for World Cup appearances, having played 26 matches. In 2022, he became the first player to reach 10 direct goal involvements at a World Cup since Diego Maradona in 1986, matching Kylian Mbappe. He is the only player to win the Golden Ball twice, in 2014 and 2022, and in 2022 he became the first player since 1966 to score and assist in three different games in a single edition. Cristian Romero, Alejandro Garnacho, and Nico Paz are also included, while Paulo Dybala is left out despite 40 caps and a penalty in the 2022 final shoot-out win over France.
Read at Soccer News
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