It's been a long time since Argentina got their hands into a major prize. With Copa America 2021 getting close, Lionel Scaloni's team will try to end a 28-year drought and finally hand its country an eagerly awaited continental trophy. La Albiceleste's boss revealed the list of players who will try to accomplish that goal.
The upcoming tournament will be the second Copa America in Scaloni's era, as the former Jorge Sampaoli assistant guided the team to a third-place finish in 2019. Two years later, he will be expected to lead his team to a deep run and hopefully claim the title.
Argentina has had to face a challenging transition to a new generation of players but it seems that they are on the right way. With names that have become regulars, La Albiceleste will begin their road in Copa America 2021 facing Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia in Group A.
Argentina's 28-man Copa America 2021 roster
Following the South American World Cup Qualifiers double-fixture, Scaloni has had to decide which players would make the final cut for the Copa America. Surprisingly, he left out Lucas Ocampos, who has been a regular starter in the campaign to Qatar 2022 so far, and also Juan Foyth, who has been frequently called up during Scaloni's tenure.
Emiliano Buendía, José Luis Palomino, and Lucas Alario were also snubbed. Needless to say, Argentina won't be lacking in a powerful squad, though. Lionel Messi will try to lead his side to a first title in a long time with the help of Lautaro Martínez, Angel Di María, Rodrigo De Paul, among many others. These will be the 28 players who will try to secure the continental prize for La Albiceleste:
Goalkeepers (4): Franco Armani (River Plate), Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa), Agustín Marchesín (Porto), Juan Musso (Udinese).
Defenders (9): Gonzalo Montiel (River), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica), Germán Pezzella (Fiorentina), Nicolás Tagliafico (Ajax), Lucas Martínez Quarta (Fiorentina), Marcos Acuña (Sevilla), Lisandro Martínez (Ajax), Cristian Romero (Atalanta), Nahuel Molina Lucero (Udinese).
Midfielders (9): Leandro Paredes (PSG), Guido Rodríguez (Betis), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Ángel Di María (PSG), Rodrigo De Paul (Udinese), Alejandro Gómez (Sevilla), Ángel Correa (Atlético de Madrid), Nicolás Domínguez (Bologna).
Forwards (6): Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Lautaro Martínez (Inter), Joaquín Correa (Lazio), Julián Álvarez (River), Sergio Agüero (Barcelona), Nicolás González (Stuttgart).
