Our team-by-team preview series for the 2026 FIFA World Cup continues with reigning champions Argentina.
La Albiceleste – boasting a largely unchanged squad from that which won it all last time out and then clinched the 2024 Copa America – are bidding to become the first country in 64 years to win back-to-back World Cup titles. They’d also be the first nation to retain the trophy outside of their home continent. No pressure!
The first stop on their quest to add a fourth star to their shirts is Kansas, where they’ll face Algeria on June 16th, followed by a Dallas double-header of Austria (June 22nd) and Jordan (June 27th).
Lionel Scaloni’s men are the overwhelming pre-tournament favourites with the bookies to win Group J. Do they have what it takes to go all the way?
Below, we assess Argentina’s squad and potential best players for the official Fantasy FIFA World Cup 2026 game, as well as recapping the results and key stats from their qualifying campaign and the matches that have followed it.
SQUAD
#SelecciónMayor Nuestros 26 guerreros que defenderán el título mundial.
¡Vamos Argentina! 🩵🤍🩵 pic.twitter.com/TW03A6xGre
— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) May 28, 2026
THE ROAD TO QUALIFICATION
Argentina breezed through South America’s qualification, which saw all countries in the CONMEBOL region play each other home and away in a league-style system.
La Albiceleste won 12 of their 18 matches, finishing with 31 goals for – the most among their South American competitors – and 10 goals against. The latter was CONMEBOL’s second-lowest tally behind Ecuador, who finished second in the qualification table.
Scaloni’s men became the first CONMEBOL team to secure their spot at this year’s World Cup.
They didn’t really slow down from that point on through the end of the official qualifying period in September, including a 4-1 rout of arch rivals Brazil in Messi’s absence. Ecuador and Colombia provided much sterner tests than Selecao.
Scaloni’s system hasn’t changed much since the 2022 World Cup, with the main difference probably being slightly less reliance on its ageing star player.
High possession (an average of 64% in the qualification campaign, the highest in CONMEBOL), clinical finishing (outperforming their expected goals [xG] tally by some ways, as illustrated by the below graph) and fairly resolute defending all suggest this is a team that should have the tools to progress well in this tournament once again.
BIGGEST GOAL THREATS IN QUALIFICATION
Lionel Messi ($10.0m) celebrates his 39th birthday between Argentina’s second and third group stage matches at this World Cup, and Scaloni is certainly trying to manage his star’s usage, but his numbers still speak for themselves.
A team-high eight goals from an eye-watering tally of 45 shots – also a team-high mark – highlight just how much this Argentine side still looks to its best-ever player for answers.
First-choice centre-forward Julian Alvarez ($8.6m) netted four qualifying goals, as did Lautaro Martinez ($8.8m) (notably from fewer shots and minutes), with Atletico Madrid midfielder Thiago Almada ($6.5m) and veteran Benfica centre-back Nicolas Otamendi ($4.4m) notching three apiece.
Enzo Fernandez ($7.5m) and Alexis Mac Allister ($6.6m) each managed two goals from midfield, where they are expected to start in a three with Rodrigo De Paul ($5.9m), who fired off 16 shots in qualifying but failed to find the back of the net.
MOST CREATIVE PLAYERS IN QUALIFYING
In terms of creativity, it will come as little surprise to see Lionel Messi atop the assists charts as well, where he is joined by Enzo Fernandez.
Several players registered two assists in qualifying, meanwhile, including Julian Alvarez, Bayer Leverkusen and Real Betis midfielders Exequiel Palacios ($6.0m) and Giovani Lo Celso ($6.2m) – each from fewer than 300 minutes of gametime – as well as Thiago Almada and Nicolas Gonzalez.
Angel Di Maria delivered two assists, too, both in the early stages of Argentina’s qualification campaign, before retiring from international duty after winning the 2024 Copa America.
SINCE QUALIFICATION
| Date | Opposition | Result (Argentina first) | Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 October 2025 | v Venezuela (n) | 1-0 | Lo Celso |
| 15 October 2025 | v Puerto Rico (n) | 6-0 | Mac Allister (2), Montiel, own-goal, Martinez (2) |
| 14 November 2025 | v Angola (a) | 2-0 | Martinez, Messi |
| 27 March 2026 | v Mauritania (h) | 2-1 | Enzo, Paz |
| 1 April 2026 | v Zambia (h) | 5-0 | Messi, Alvarez, Otamendi, own-goal, Barco |
Since their CONMEBOL qualification campaign ended in September, Argentina have contested five international friendlies and won them all.
Lionel Messi missed the first of them, with Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez leading the line supported by 21-year-old Como breakout star Nico Paz ($5.9m), Giovanni Lo Celso, Enzo Fernandez and Leandro Paredes ($5.6m). Lo Celsi scored the winner, assisted by Lautaro.
The backline featured most of the likely first-choice World Cup crew that day, being Emiliano Martinez ($5.0m), Nahuel Molina ($4.4m), Cristian Romero ($4.9m) and Nicolas Tagliafico ($4.3m), with perhaps only Lisandro Martinez ($4.6m) to come in for Marcos Senesi.
A much-changed XI, with Messi re-instated and providing two assists, won the subsequent outing against Puerto Rico 6-0, before an experimental 3-4-2-1 with Thiago Almada and Messi supporting Lautaro – the latter duo each notching a goal and assist – beat Angola 2-0.
Then came a hastily arranged match against Mauritania, from which Argentina unconvincingly emerged as 2-1 winners, followed by a final 5-0 send-off against Zambia in Buenos Aires. That last XI was probably the closest to the one Scaloni is likely to name against Algeria on matchday one, including a frontline of Messi, Alvarez and Almada.
None of these five opponents qualified for this summer’s World Cup, of course, so it’s questionable how much useful information can be gleaned from the results by us or Scaloni himself.
Before getting their World Cup campaign underway, the Argentinians will also contest two more friendlies against non-qualified teams: Honduras (June 7th) and Iceland (June 9th).
WORLD CUP FIXTURES
As you can see from our colour-themed World Cup ticker above, Argentina don’t face their group outsiders till Round 3.
However, there are no overly daunting tests before then. They are massive favourites to top Group J.
That makes them pretty good Fantasy picks from the outset.
TOP FANTASY PICKS
Might this be the tournament where we see a changing of the guard in Argentina’s ranks?
Assuming that Lionel Messi does indeed elect to compete at what is surely his last hurrah on this stage, there is little doubt that he will remain central to much of his country’s good work going forward. It would be difficult to bet against him becoming Argentina’s oldest goal-scorer at a World Cup, and spot-kick duties almost certainly still belong to him for as long as he’s on the pitch.
However, Julian Alvarez has continued to make a name for himself this season as one of football’s best forwards and appears ready to shoulder more of the burden Messi has carried for so long. He is also expected to be the main focal point of Scaloni’s usual 4-3-3, with Messi on the right wing, and may well face less restricted gametime than his compatriot, given their respective ages.
The left-wing position is most open to debate, following Di Maria’s retirement. Thiago Almada appears to be the leading contender but the likes of Nico Paz, Nicolas Gonzalez and Valentin Barco ($6.2m) are all options out wide as well – although you wouldn’t want to bank on any of them as surefire starters throughout the tournament. The same goes for Giuliano Simeone ($5.6m), a naturally right-sided wide man – good luck ousting Messi!
If we see Scaloni switch things up and opt for a narrower system with a two-man frontline, perhaps Lautaro Martinez could come into play.
In the middle of the pitch, Enzo Fernandez is an option and we know he loves bombing forward for Chelsea, but he may not get quite the same freedom to do so in the national team.
At the back, Cristian Romero probably carries greater threat from set-pieces – which Messi will be expected to take – than likely central defensive partner Lisandro Martinez. Perhaps Nahuel Molina could chip in with a few attacking returns as he has for Atletico Madrid.
There’s always Emiliano Martinez, too, of course. He was excellent at the last World Cup and could be riding a high after winning the Europa League with Aston Villa. The 33-year-old shot-stopper broke his finger in the warm-up before that match, but played through it and is expected to retain his first-choice status in goal.
