Argentina national team shirt numbers announced for World Cup, Lionel Messi to wear 10 for record time

Very expected team selected and glad for Barco included. Buendia and Senesi should had been there and Buendia maybe even more so and due to his form he could had made a great impact, but hopefully Paz get’s to play a lot. Bit worried about Almada’s form, but again he has not played much with ATM and clearly Cholo’s tactics have not suited him the best, though he has been so good with NT, that hopefully he can pick it up again! Hopefully everyone stays fit and those coming back from injuries will be fit again!

Pretty much the same core squad from the 2022 WC and 2024 Copa. The two notable omissions are senesi and Buendia.

For Senesi, it basically came down to him vs Balerdi, and scaloni clearly preferred the profile that fits the current system better. Senesi is good but a bit too slow, and unlike bournemoth, Scaloni isn’t going to tweak the entire defensive setup to accommodate him, especially when there are already 5 CBs in the squad including Medina.

Buendia’s case was difficult because he’s actually in very good form. But Scaloni has trusted Lo Celso for years and has already invested heavily in Almada, so dropping either of them was unlikely. Even though Almada hasn’t really progressed much in Europe over the last 2 years, Scaloni still sees him as part of the long-term project. Almada’s future in Europe is heavily reliant on world cup performance otherwise he is back to River.

Overall, except for the lack of top-level fullback depth, this is still a very balanced and complete squad.

The final 26 is largely the squad that was to be expected from a coach that is loyal to many players. Personally, I would have picked Buendia over LoCelso or Almada and Senesi over Otamendi. With Molina and Montiel both suffering injuries in recent weeks, I would have picked only one of them. But glad to see Paz and Barco are in.

After listening to several coaches explaining their selection choices, a few things became clear.
1) due to humidity and heat, we are not going to see intense matches like PSG vs Bayern
2) Several countries including England left out box-2-box players because they gamble on set pieces. It is too hot to run for 90 minutes. Expect goals from corners (patterns are being prepared by set piece specialists), free kicks and throw ins. Just the way Arsenal won many games.
3) Holland will gamble on height with Van Dijk, Van de Ven, Dumfries, Weghorst and other tall players. Japan better avoid corners in their opening game…
4) France offensive capabilities with Mbappe, Dembele, Doue, Olise, Cherky and Barcola are feared by several coaches and seen as clear favorites.
5) None of the European coaches I have heard so far expect Argentina to win it. All predictions mention 4 European teams in the semi finals.