Lionel Messi headlines Argentina preliminary World Cup roster as title defense begins

Another hurdle was cleared for Lionel Messi to take part in the 2026 World Cup, with the superstar attacker named to Argentina's preliminary World Cup roster.

Argentina announced Monday, May 11, that manager Lionel Scaloni sent a 55-man list to FIFA with Messi's name included on the squad.

The 38-year-old is yet to confirm that he'll take part in Argentina's title defense after leading the Albiceleste to the top prize in the 2022 edition. But he is widely expected to participate in the tournament that will take place in North America, where he currently plays his club soccer with Inter Miami.

An interview was published last week in which Messi spoke about Argentina's hopes of repeating and the role he could play in that title defense. Now, he formally is a candidate to make Scaloni's final 26-man roster, due to FIFA on June 1 ahead of a June 2 announcement.

While teams are not under any obligation to publish their provisional roster, Argentina announced its list to the public.

The manager has said he hopes to have Messi in the fold but can't force a player to do anything he doesn't want to do.

"It’s a question that’s more for him, but for my part you already know what I think," he said at a news conference in March. "I’ll do everything possible for him to be there."

Who joins Messi on Argentina's preliminary World Cup roster?

Gianluca Prestianni is present on the preliminary roster, though the 20-year-old would miss the first two games of the tournament with a suspension after using homophobic language in a UEFA Champions League match against Real Madrid.

The Velez Sarsfield product has only suited up for the Argentina senior team once, facing Angola in November, but helped the U-20 squad to a second-place finish in last year's U-20 World Cup.

Many familiar faces from the 2022 squad return. Goalkeeper Emiliano "Dibu" Martínez, final penalty converter Gonzalo Montiel and Messi's Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul are among the returnees from that team. Montiel is one of 11 players on the list currently playing in Argentina's domestic league and one of five on the River Plate roster.

Argentina meets Honduras and Iceland in pre-tournament friendly matches at U.S. college football stadiums before a June 16 World Cup opener against Algeria.

Full Argentina preliminary World Cup roster

• Emiliano Martinez - Aston Villa
• Geronimo Rulli - Marseille
• Juan Musso - Atlético Madrid
• Walter Benitez - Crystal Palace FC
• Facundo Cambeses - Racing
• Santiago Beltran - River Plate
• Agustin Giay - Palmeiras
• Gonzalo Montiel - River Plate
• Nahuel Molina - Atlético Madrid
• Nicolas Capaldo - Hamburg
• Kevin Mac Allister - Union Saint Gilloise
• Lucas Martinez Quarta - River Plate
• Marcos Senesi - Bournemounth
• Lisandro Martinez - Manchester United
• Nicolas Otamendi - Benfica
• German Pezzella - River Plate
• Leonardo Balerdi - Marseille
• Cristian Romero - Tottenhman Hotspur
• Lautaro Di Lollo - Boca Juniors
• Zaid Romero - Getafe
• Facundo Medina - Marseille
• Marcos Acuña - River Plate
• Nicolas Tagliafico - Lyon
• Gabriel Rojas - Racing
• Maximo Perrone - Como 1907
• Leandro Paredes - Boca Juniors
• Guido Rodriguez - Valencia CF
• Anibal Moreno - River Plate
• Milton Delgado - Boca Juniors
• Alan Varela - FC Porto
• Ezequiel Fernandez - Bayer Leverkusen
• Rodrigo De Paul - Inter Miami
• Exequiel Palacios - Bayer Leverkusen
• Enzo Fernandez - Chelsea
• Alexis MacAllister - Liverpool
• Giovani Lo Celso - Real Betis
• Nicolás Dominguez - Nottingham Forest
• Emiliano Buendia - Aston Villa
• Valentin Barco - Strasbourg
• Lionel Messi - Inter Miami
• Nicolas Paz - Como
• Franco Mastantuono - Real Madrid
• Thiago Almada - Atlético Madrid
• Tomas Aranda - Boca Juniors
• Nicolas Gonzalez - Atlético Madrid
• Alejandro Garnacho - Chelsea
• Giuliano Simeone - Atlético Madrid
• Matias Soule - AS Roma
• Claudio Echeverri - Girona Fútbol Club
• Gianluca Prestianni - SL Benfica
• Santiago Castro - Bologna FC
• Lautaro Martinez - Inter Milan
• Jose Manuel Lopez - Palmeiras
• Julian Alvarez - Atlético Madrid
• Mateo Pellegrino - Parma