As Lionel Scaloni prepares to announce the next roster for Argentina’s national team, the focus is on the two crucial CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying matches: a home game against Chile and an away fixture against Colombia. The team led by Lionel Messi could be joined by four new young players who were not in the last Copa America.
While the reigning Copa America champions await Lionel Messi’s recovery from the injury he sustained during the final, the coaching staff is closely monitoring four young players who have a shot at making the squad.
According to reports from TyC Sports, Thiago Almada, who recently made a move to Botafogo, Facundo Buonanotte, now with Leicester City, Matias Soule, who joined AS Roma, and Equi Fernandez, set to play in Saudi Arabia with Al-Qadsiah, are all under consideration for a call-up.
Scaloni will be carefully assessing these young prospects’ performances leading up to the official squad announcement for the qualifiers against Chile and Colombia. These new faces could join the ranks of players like Valentin Carboni and Alejandro Garnacho, who were integral in Argentina’s recent continental triumph in the United States.
CONMEBOL Qualifying Standings
This are the CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup Qualifiers standings
| Position | Team | MP | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Argentina | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 15 |
| 2 | Uruguay | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 13 |
| 3 | Colombia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| 4 | Venezuela | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| 5 | Ecuador | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 6 | Brazil | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 | Paraguay | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -2 | 5 |
| 8 | Chile | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -4 | 5 |
| 9 | Bolivia | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -10 | 3 |
| 10 | Peru | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -7 | 2 |