Paulo Dybala opens up on 2026 World Cup chances with Argentina amid injury struggles

Paulo Dybala has endured a frustrating 2025-26 season at AS Roma, with a string of injuries severely limiting his involvement throughout the campaign. Still working his way back to full fitness, the forward has spoken candidly about his hopes of forcing his way into Argentina‘s squad for the 2026 World Cup.

Across the current season, Dybala has managed just 23 appearances, contributing three goals and four assists. Muscular injuries and knee surgery have kept him sidelined for 19 matches, leaving him well short of his best form and explaining his absence from Argentina’s most recent call-up lists.

In a conversation with Joaquin Alvarez on the Lo del Pollo YouTube channel, Dybala was candid about the challenge ahead of him. “We all want to be in the national team; it’s not going to be easy. I have to find my rhythm and get a consistent run of minutes at my club for that to happen. My goal is to be there with the national team, to be able to play in the World Cup. First, I have to be doing well at my club,” he said.

The numbers underline just how difficult this season has been physically. Dybala has played the full 90 minutes in a single game on just two occasions in 2026 and only five times across the entire campaign. He returned from his knee surgery on April 25 for a 13-minute cameo, his first action since January 25, meaning he had been completely sidelined for three months.

Despite his prolonged absence from the national team setup, Dybala was quick to make clear he holds no grievance toward head coach Lionel Scaloni. “It’s true that because of my injuries, I missed some call-ups, and in a national team like Argentina’s, you can’t afford to slow down. I don’t feel like I’m in a position to call the coach and ask him what’s going on or why I’m not there,” he said.

Refusing to write off his World Cup chances entirely, Dybala laid out what he believes he needs to do to earn a spot on the plane. “I have to show the coach that I’m doing well at my club, that I’m up to the standard of what he wants. He makes the decision on who are the best players to go and play a World Cup,” he added.

Will Dybala be at the 2026 World Cup?

Argentina’s final squad has yet to be officially announced, though reports from March suggested that 21 players have already effectively secured their spots. Dybala, however, remains well outside Scaloni’s current thinking, with his fitness concerns the most significant obstacle standing in his way.

In the attacking positions, the competition for the remaining spots has centered around the likes of Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, Real Madrid’s Franco Mastantuono, Palmeiras’ Jose Manuel Lopez and RC Strasbourg’s Joaquín Panichelli, all of whom had the advantage of featuring in the March international window. While Panichelli has since suffered an ACL injury, the others remain ahead of Dybala in the pecking order.

Dybala’s last appearance for the Albiceleste came on September 10, 2024, when he came off the bench in the second half of a 2-1 defeat to Colombia in Barranquilla. His most recent international goal predates that by four days, when he scored in a 3-0 victory over Chile at the Monumental, stepping up to wear the No. 10 jersey in the absence of Lionel Messi.

While his role in the 2022 World Cup was largely a supporting one, Dybala delivered in the biggest moment, clearing a gilt-edged Kylian Mbappe chance in extra time of the final against France before coolly converting his penalty in the shootout that decided the contest. Now, with his fitness far from guaranteed and time running short, securing a late ticket to the squad would require something of a minor miracle.