Scaloni calls them "gauchos" - Messi joins CR7 for record sixth time at the World Cup

Argentina national football team coach Lionel Scaloni today announced a 26-man squad for the upcoming World Cup, led by captain Lionel Messi.

Of the players invited to the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, 17 were part of the team that won the world championship title in Qatar four years ago, defeating France in the final.

Several players were questionable due to injuries of varying severity, including Messi, who did not finish Inter Miami's match against Philadelphia due to fatigue and a hamstring injury.

Messi will be playing in his sixth World Cup, having previously appeared in the World Cups in Germany, South Africa, Brazil, Russia and Qatar. Only Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo has been invited to participate in the World Cup for the sixth time.

The Argentina coach's list also includes goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who broke his finger during last Sunday's Europa League final in which Aston Villa beat Freiburg.

Scaloni also included Cristiano Romero, who is recovering from a knee injury he suffered in mid-April playing for Tottenham, in the squad, along with Nauel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel, who are both recovering from muscle injuries.

Argentina will begin their World Cup campaign on June 16 against Algeria, and Group J also includes Austria and Jordan.

The team will travel to their World Cup base in Kansas City on Saturday and will play friendlies against Honduras and Iceland before the tournament begins.

Argentina World Cup squad - goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Geronimo Rulli (Olympique Marseille), Juan Musso (Atletico Madrid).

Defense: Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate), Nauel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique Marseille), Christian Romero (Tottenham), Nicolas Tagliafico (Olympique Lyon), Facundo Medina (Olympique Marseille).

Midfielders: Giovani Lo Celso (Betis), Leonardo Paredes (Boca Juniors), Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami), Ezequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Alexis McAllister (Liverpool), Valentin Barco (Strasbourg).

Attack: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Nicolas Gonzalez (Atletico Madrid), Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Jose Manuel Lopez (Palmeiras), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Almada (Atletico Madrid), Nico Paz (Como).

Surprisingly, Paulo Dybala (Roma), Franco Mastantuono (Real Madrid), Alejandro Garnacho (Chelsea) are not on the list, as are two players with great seasons - Aston Villa left-winger Emiliano Buendia and Bournemouth centre-back Marco Senesi. Bournemouth have not lost since January 3rd and Senesi has been the standard-bearer of the defence.