Lionel Scaloni has yet to announce his final decision regarding Argentina’s squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The head coach acknowledged that he plans to wait as long as possible before finalizing the roster, taking into account the physical condition of certain players. In that context, Gonzalo Montiel and Nicolas Gonzalez are the most delicate cases.
“As of right now, we still have some lingering doubts and a few fitness issues with specific players that we intend to resolve over the coming days,” Scaloni explained during an interview this week with DSports.
According to prestigious Argentine outlet Infobae, there are two cases in particular worrying the coach and his staff. The first is Montiel, who suffered a hamstring tear in his right leg on May 16 during a River Plate match against Rosario Central.
While the injury was initially ruled out as severe, it became clear over the following days that the 29-year-old defender would face a considerable recovery period before returning to the field. That puts his World Cup participation in serious jeopardy, with Argentina set to debut on June 16 against Algeria.
Lionel Scaloni, head coach of Argentina.
Argentina’s problem at right-back
What adds even more complexity to Gonzalo Montiel’s situation is his position. He is one of the team’s two primary options at right-back alongside Nahuel Molina. However, the Atletico Madrid defender is also currently injured — although his recovery timeline appears shorter — creating a void in that area of the field and forcing a careful risk assessment.
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The coach must determine whether it makes sense to bring two players dealing with physical issues who compete for the same position, with the risk that neither could be available to play. There is also another complication: the player who was usually the backup option behind Montiel and Molina, Juan Foyth, has already been ruled out of the World Cup because of a serious Achilles tendon injury.
Given that scenario, Scaloni has included several players capable of playing right-back in the preliminary list of 55 names. That includes Hamburger’s Nicolas Capaldo, Palmeiras’ Augusto Giay, and Union Saint Gilloise’s Kevin Mac Allister. The common factor among all of them, however, is their lack of experience with the senior Argentina national team, a detail that hurts their chances and helps explain why the staff is waiting until the last possible moment on Montiel.
Nicolas Gonzalez’s situation
Nicolas Gonzalez is facing a predicament similar to Gonzalo Montiel’s. The Atletico Madrid wide midfielder suffered a right thigh injury on April 28 and has still not fully recovered despite nearly a month having passed.
Gonzalez’s case is especially significant for two reasons. On one hand, his skill set makes him difficult to replace because of the versatility that allows him to play as a left-back, midfielder, winger, and even center forward — a valuable trait in a tournament that features several matches over a short period of time.
In addition, despite being a regular member of the Argentina national team for years, Nico missed the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar because of a similar injury, which would make another exclusion from the roster traveling to North America especially painful.
