Argentina arrived at the 2026 World Cup as holders and with the same old ambition: win it again. Lionel Scaloni has kept the spine of his 2022 champions together, stayed with a 4-3-3 shape and built an argentina world cup squad that still feels familiar, even if Ángel Di María is no longer there.
That continuity is the reason the search around this team is surging now. Messi is back as captain and No 10, Julián Alvarez and Thiago Almada are again central to the attack, and almost two thirds of the squad that lifted the trophy in Qatar remain in place. Argentina also finished top of the Conmebol section in qualifying, nine points clear of Ecuador, which underlined how steady Scaloni’s side has become as it heads into another title defense.
Scaloni has every reason to trust the core. He won the 2022 World Cup and has added two Copa América titles, giving him three major trophies and the strongest record of any coach in Argentina’s history. He also kept the team moving when he was promoted from the role he held as Jorge Sampaoli’s assistant at the 2018 World Cup, after Claudio Tapia first gave him the chance in friendlies and then confirmed him permanently. That path matters here because Argentina are not arriving as outsiders or a rebuilt side; they are arriving as the standard-bearers.
Nico Paz is one of the names that gives this squad a little extra lift. He had been in excellent form at Como and, in a group that already includes Messi, Alvarez and Almada, he offers Scaloni another attacking option at a time when he wants depth as much as flair. Lautaro Martínez is also aiming to be in top condition for the tournament, a reminder that Argentina’s ceiling will depend not just on reputation but on how sharp its forwards are when the matches begin.
There is, though, a harder edge to the picture. Scaloni has described the tournament as “very complex and difficult” and warned that the shirt is demanding, because the fans expect good football and the best team does not always win. That caution sits beside the confidence, and it makes sense: several players had injury setbacks after a punishing club season, so the question is less about Argentina’s quality than about which of its familiar names are actually ready to carry the load.
The group stage gives them no easy start. Argentina play Algeria on 16 June in Kansas City, Austria on 22 June in Dallas and Jordan on 27 June, also in Dallas. For a team chasing back-to-back World Cup titles, those fixtures will quickly show whether the holders can turn continuity into another run, or whether the wear and tear of a long season slows them before the knockout rounds even begin.
