Head coach of Argentina’s national football team, Lionel Scaloni, announced the squad for the Albiceleste’s next set of South American qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Paraguay and Perú. With the notable absence of Qatar 2022 winner Paulo Dybala, the roster includes a new name, Enzo Barrenechea, alongside familiar ones like Lionel Messi, Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez, and Alejandro Garnacho.
Barrenechea was the biggest surprise. The 23-year-old midfielder, who came through Newell’s Old Boys’ youth academy, is currently playing for Spanish Primera Division side Valencia. Hailing from Córdoba, Barrenechea is known for his intuitive defensive positioning, game reading, and passing.
His Albiceleste debut wasn’t a given. In 2021, while playing for Italian giant Juventus’s reserve team in Serie C, Barrenechea tore his ACL and was benched for almost a year.
Meanwhile, Martínez makes his return after serving a two-game ban by FIFA which saw him miss clashes with Venezuela and Bolivia in October. In late September, he was found responsible for “offensive behavior” and violating the principles of fair play after he rehashed his iconic gesture, placing the trophy over his genitals following a 3-0 routing of Chile at home, and then pushed a camera operator after a 2-1 loss away at Colombia.
Others making a return are Alejandro Garnacho and Nicolás González — who had been out with injury the last set of games — as well as Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso, Porto’s Nehuén Pérez and Lazio’s Valentín Castellanos.
The biggest name left out of the list is undoubtedly Dybala. The AS Roma striker scored a goal against Chile and played against Colombia but wasn’t even on the bench against Venezuela and Bolivia. Striker Valentín Carboni and defender Marcos Acuña, both injured, are also out.
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The game against Perú on November 19 was originally scheduled to be played at River Plate’s home of the Monumental. However, the game has now officially been moved to arch-rival team Boca Juniors’ La Bombonera.
The reason is the Copa Libertadores final, set to be played on November 30 at the Monumental. South American Football governing body Conmebol requires the ground to be ready several days in advance ahead of the clash between Atlético Mineiro and Botafogo, forcing the Argentine Football Association’s hand.
The Argentine national team has so far played 11 World Cup qualifiers at La Bombonera, with six wins, four draws, and just one loss.
That loss came almost exactly a year before the Perú game, when Scaloni’s team lost 2-0 to Uruguay on November 16, 2023. The defeat brought an end to a historic 25-game unbeaten streak in the South American Qualifiers that started in 2017.
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