Lionel Scaloni, the coach of the Argentina national team, revealed an initial squad of 33 players in preparation for the matches against Uruguay and Brazil in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, led by star Lionel Messi.

The squad includes the new Manchester City player Claudio Echeverri, along with other young talents such as Nicolas Paz, Benjamin Dominguez, and Santiago Castro, all of whom are under 21 years old.

The Argentina national team tops the qualifiers with 25 points after 12 rounds, while Uruguay is in second place with 20 points. The Tango team will visit Uruguay on March 21, before hosting Brazil just four days after the match against Uruguay.

Argentina's squad for the matches against Uruguay and Brazil:

Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) - Geronimo Rulli (Marseille) - Walter Benitez (PSV Eindhoven).

Defenders: Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid) - Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate) - Cristian Romero (Tottenham) - German Pezzella (River Plate) - Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille) - Juan Foyth (Villarreal) - Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica) - Facundo Medina (Lens) - Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon) - Francisco Ortega (Olympiacos).

Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Roma) - Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea) - Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid) - Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen) - Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool) - Giovanni Lo Celso (Real Betis) - Maximo Perrone (Como) - Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid) - Benjamin Dominguez (Bologna) - Thiago Almada (Lyon).

Forwards: Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United) - Nicolas Gonzalez (Juventus) - Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) - Nicolas Paz (Como) - Claudio Echeverri (Manchester City) - Paulo Dybala (Roma) - Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid) - Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) - Santiago Castro (Bologna) - Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid).