Lionel Messi and Argentina vie to defend their championship in the 2026 World Cup. In order to do so, La Albiceleste have put together their final 26-man roster with only a handful of Qatar 2022 champions missing. Among the most notable changes, are the additions of two players who weren’t born in the Land of Silver.
With only two players born overseas, Argentina‘s foreign-born player tally does not come anywhere close to some of their Group J opponents in the 2026 World Cup. Algeria feature more than a dozen France-born and other foreign-born players.
Meanwhile, La Albiceleste also trails another group stage opponent in this regard, as Jordan’s roster includes three overseas-born players. Austria are one of the few teams with no players born outside the country. Argentina’s final 26-man roster for the 2026 World Cup confirms Messi will share the field at the United States, Mexico, and Canada with two players born overseas: Giuliano Simeone and Nicolas Paz.
- Giuliano Simeone: born in Rome, Italy
- Nicolas Paz: born in Tenerife, Spain.
Giuliano Simeone (left) and Nicolas Paz (right).
The story behind Simeone
The son of former Argentina international and current Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, Giuliano was born in Italy in 2002. At the time, Diego was playing for Serie A side Lazio. Although Giuliano spent the first years of his life in Europe, he later lived in Argentina before returning to Europe in 2019 to join Atletico Madrid’s youth academy.
Simeone made his Argentina debut in November 2024 at the age of 21. He scored his first—and so far only—official goal for his country during the historic 4-1 rout of Brazil in Buenos Aires. Coming off a sensational season with Los Colchoneros, expectations are high on Simeone as he joins Messi and company in his first World Cup.
Paz’s background
As for Nico Paz, the other foreign-born player on Argentina’s squad, his story is similar to Simeone’s in that both had fathers who played professional soccer. However, Paz’s case is also similar to Alejandro Garnacho’s.
Both were born in Spain to Argentine parents and were identified by Argentina’s youth national team system before they could be lost to another powerhouse. Paz chose to represent Argentina over Spain, and as a result, he will be playing alongside Messi at the 2026 World Cup instead of Lamine Yamal and La Furia Roja.
Argentina had a handful of players born abroad, mainly in Europe, who were dubbed “Los Euro Pibes”—roughly translated as “the Euro kids.” In the end, however, Lionel Scaloni opted to bring only Simeone and Paz to the 2026 World Cup.
