Palmeiras striker Jose Manuel Lopez also received his first Argentina callup on Monday for World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador. Lopez caught the eye of coach Lionel Scaloni for his goal-scoring output at Palmeiras, where he joined in 2022 from Lanús. The center forward has 15 goals in 42 matches this year.

Argentina will have their final matches of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers against Ecuador and Venezuela, and Lionel Scaloni announces the call-ups with the return of Lionel Messi. Argentina have already secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup after an outstanding campaign in the qualifiers.

Will Lionel Messi play 2026 World Cup? Injury problems in the last year have hampered Messi's involvement with Argentina at times, while he has remained tight-lipped over whether he will feature in th