Lionel Messi highlights Argentina Copa America 2024 squad

Reigning Copa America champion Argentina is looking for another title this summer with a squad carrying much of the same talent. Headlined by Lionel Messi, La Albiceleste enter the tournament as the favorite to win the tournament. Much of that comes from the fact that it carries a talented team. Not only does Argentina lead CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying. It is the defending World Cup champion. Therefore, it is no surprise to see Argentina atop the FIFA World Rankings.

Head coach Lionel Scaloni named his provisional 29-player squad. By the time the Copa America begins, he will need to cut it down by three players. CONMEBOL initially set a maximum player count of 23. However, due to inquiries from competing nations and to further align with UEFA, that number increased to 26. Therefore, the European Championship and Copa America will use the same number of players per team.

In addition to Messi, many of Argentina’s brightest players are part of the squad in contention to play at the Copa America. Angel Di Maria, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez and Emiliano Martinez played crucial roles in that World Cup success in Qatar. Fernandez was a question mark as he nursed hernia surgery. Unsurprisingly, they are the top players on display for Argentina at the Copa America. The most in-form player for Argentina is likely Lautaro Martinez. The Inter Milan striker has scored 24 goals in 33 league games this season. That is eight better than the forward in second, Dusan Vlahovic.

Lionel Messi remains the leader of the side. He has been setting records in Major League Soccer, and his displays with Argentina last year were strong when he was healthy. If Messi is at full fitness, he can be the deciding factor in any game.

Who’s in, and who’s out of Argentina Copa America squad?

Lionel Scaloni has a core of players he can depend on in any game. Not only are they experienced, but they retain talent despite many of the stars aging. To counteract that, the Argentine head coach has made a conscious effort to bring several young players into the squad.

One of those is Alejandro Garnacho. The Manchester United winger has been a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season for the Red Devils. With nine goals in 49 games this season, Garnacho has been a brash presence in the United front line. Valentin Barco is also part of the 29-man provisional squad despite limited appearances with Brighton this season. He remains one of the side’s best prospects.

Including these young players does lead to omissions from others. Paulo Dybala, for example, is not part of the provisional squad for the Copa America. Therefore, barring an injury to a forward, Dybala will be out of the squad for the Copa America. Again, things could change, but this is a major indication that Dybala will not be present this summer. The Argentine has 13 goals and nine assists in 27 Serie A appearances for Roma in the current campaign.

Argentina is in Group A of the Copa America with Peru, Chile and Canada. The side’s first game is against Canada on June 20 in Atlanta, GA.

Full provisional squad for Argentina

Goalkeepers

Franco Armani (River Plate), Geronimo Rulli (Ajax), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)

Defenders

Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Lucas Quarta (Fiorentina), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Marcos Acuña (Sevilla), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Valentin Barco (Brighton and Hove Albion)

Midfielders

Guido Rodiguez (Real Betis), Leandro Paredes (Roma), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Rodrigo de Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham)

Forwards

Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Valentin Carboni (Monza), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)

PHOTOS: IMAGO