Scaloni's 55 WC candidates: No Dybala, ray of hope for Garnacho

It's that time of year when the managers of the national teams that qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup start announcing their preliminary squads. One of the first to take on this tricky challenge has been the boss of the reigning World Champions, Argentina.

Lionel Scaloni announced the list of 55 players who could make La Albiceleste's WC squad, though the media in Argentina claim 22 names are certain to make the cut, with the remaining four spots still up for grabs.

Compared to the team that won the 2022 World Cup, 20 players are there, while six have been omitted - the most high-profile one being Paulo Dybala, apart from Angel Di Maria, who retired from the national team in July 2024.

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Lionel Messi, as the leader and captain, has naturally been selected, but so have Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni, despite his recent racism controversy involving Vinicius Jr, and Alejandro Garnacho of Chelsea, whose hopes of making the squad were reportedly hanging by a thread at one point.

Either way, one thing is certain, regardless of Scaloni's ultimate choice: Argentina will be extremely powerful and will rightfully dream of becoming only the third national team in football history to win back-to-back World Cup titles.