World Champions arrive in Buenos Aires for World Cup qualifiers

On Wednesday, Argentinian Premier League stars will join the rest of their teammates in Buenos Aires ahead of November international window fixtures for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification games.

Argentina will play against Uruguay and Brazil in the next days, but Lionel Scaloni had to take his team through its first training session without three key players on Tuesday.

Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, and Julian Alvarez arrived for Argentina duty on Tuesday but couldn’t partake in the first training due to their tight schedule. Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez played 63 minutes in Chelsea’s pulsating 4-4 draw against Manchester City in the Premier League, while Julian Alvarez was involved in the game for 78 minutes.

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister sat out the club’s 3-0 win over Brentford due to cards accumulation. Inter Miami star, Lionel Messi was the first player to reach the Argentina camp and took part in Tuesday’s training session.

Argentina will host Uruguay at La Bombonera stadium on Thursday evening before traveling to take on Brazil at the Maracana next Tuesday in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. 

The world champions are top of the South American qualification group for the FIFA World Cup, creating a five-point lead after four matches.

Argentina Squad:

Goalkeepers: Franco Armani (River Plate), Walter Benítez (PSV Eindhoven), Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa), and Juan Musso (Atalanta).

Defenders: Pablo Maffeo (Mallorca), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica), Germán Pezzella (Real Betis), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Nicolás Tagliafico (Lyon), Marcus Acuna (Sevilla)

Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Enzo Fernández (Chelsea), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Leandro Paredes (AS Roma), Guido Rodríguez (Real Betis) and Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur).

Forwards: Julián Álvarez (Manchester City), Paulo Dybala (AS Roma), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Ángel Di Maria (Benfica), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami).

Daniel Ademiju Idowu