Argentina's head coach, Lionel Scaloni, was awaiting updates from several key players before making his decision on the FIFA World Cup 2022 squad. He finally made up his mind and revealed the major event's final roster on Friday (November 11). With the exception of a few surprises, all of the anticipated names were included on the squad.
Argentina’s final Qatar World Cup 2022 roster
It’s been understood that Argentina’s head coach, Lionel Scaloni, had made up his mind on certain players long ago. However, he had to wait a little longer to announce his final squad because of injuries to certain players.
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Paulo Dybala, Angel di Maria, Leandro Paredes, Giovani Lo Celso, and Juan Foyth were in serious doubts due to fitness issues. However, except for Giovani Lo Celso, Lionel Scaloni included the rest of the four players in the final squad. Lo Celso underwent an operation for a muscle injury, so Scaloni had no other choice but to exclude him from the roster. Exequiel Palacios has been included in place of the injured Lo Celso.
Scaloni has taken a bit of a risk by picking Paulo Dybala and Juan Foyth for the tournament, as both are yet to reach their full fitness. Besides promising youngsters, Enzo Fernandez and Julian Alvarez have impressed everyone with their consistent club performances. Therefore, their inclusion was almost certain. Angel Correa and Giovanni Simeone did not make the final squad, but Inter Milan's Joaquin Correa was chosen by Scaloni.
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Argentina’s 26-man FIFA World Cup 2022 squad
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martínez, Franco Armani, Geronimo Rulli
Defenders: Nahuel Molina, Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Tagliafico, Juan Foyth
Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Guido Rodriguez, Alejandro Papu Gomez, Enzo Fernandez, Exequiel Palacios
Forwards: Angel Di Maria, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Gonzalez, Joaquin Correa, Paulo Dybala, Lionel Messi
Two-time World Cup champions, Argentina last won the tournament in 1986 in Mexico. Diego Armando Maradona inspired the Albiceleste to win their second World Cup trophy. Argentina have not won a World Cup trophy in the last 36 years. They played in the final in 1990 and 2014 but lost to Germany 1-0 on both occasions.
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The present Argentina national team has remained unbeaten for more than 30 matches, and last year they won the Copa America 2021 in Brazil. This Albiceleste squad is considered one of the strongest and one of the favourites to win the FIFA World Cup 2022. Argentina will start its Qatar World Cup 2022 campaign against Saudi Arabia on November 22.