Lionel Messi is the headline name in Argentina's squad for the World Cup.

Messi had not definitively made it clear if he was going to play at the World Cup for the sixth time.

But, as expected, the 38-year-old has been named in Lionel Scaloni's squad, and will captain Argentina as they aim to defend the title they won in 2022.

Messi has scored 13 goals at the World Cup, just three shy of the all-time record, set by Miroslav Klose (16).

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner holds the record for the most World Cup matches (26), and will join Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo as the only male players to appear in six separate editions of the tournament.

Messi will be supported in attack by Inter's Lautaro Martinez and Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez, who has been linked with a big-money switch to Barcelona.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, fresh from winning the Europa League, is once again Scaloni's first-choice shot-stopper, while Cristian Romero, who missed the end of Tottenham's campaign due to a knee injury, has also made the cut.

Paulo Dybala, however, is a big-name absence, while Emiliano Buendia has also missed out.

Nico Paz is in after his brilliant season with Como, while Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, who was named Young Player of the Tournament at the last World Cup, is also included, as is Messi's Inter Miami team-mate Rodrigo de Paul.

Argentina face Honduras and Iceland in pre-tournament friendlies before taking on Algeria, Austria and Jordan in Group J.

#SelecciónMayor Nuestros 26 guerreros que defenderán el título mundial.

¡Vamos Argentina! pic.twitter.com/TW03A6xGre

—  Selección Argentina (@Argentina) May 28, 2026

Argentina squad in full: Juan Musso (Atletico Madrid), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa); Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Facundo Medina (Marseille), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid); Leandro Paredes (River Plate), Rodrigo de Paul (Inter Miami), Valentin Barco (Strasbourg), Giovani lo Celso (Real Betis), Ezequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea); Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Nicolas Gonzalez (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Almada (Atletico Madrid), Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Nico Paz (Como), Jose Manuel Lopez (Palmeiras), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan).