Argentina announce Copa America squad as Premier League star snubbed

Argentina’s team for the named his team for the 2024 Copa America has been confirmed.

This year’s Copa America kicks off on 20 June, with the United States of America hosting the tournament.

Defending champions Argentina open the tournament as they face Canada in the first fixture of Group A, with Peru and Chile completing the group.

And five days before the tournament gets underway, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has named his final.

The deadline for teams to be submitted to CONMEBOL is the evening of June 15, meaning that Scaloni waited until the final day to make his decisions.

And the Argentina boss has made some big changes, as Angel Correa, Valentin Barco and Leonardo Balerdi have been left out of the 26-man squad.

All three players were included in Argentina’s provisional squad of 29 players, but with the maximum players permitted for the final Copa America squad being 26, were dropped ahead of the tournament.

Correa has made 25 appearances for his national team, scoring three goals in this time.

The forward has disappointed for current club Atletico Madrid, where he has scored just 64 goals in his 304 appearances.

Brighton and Hove Albion’s 19-year-old defender Barco makes way having only made 1 senior appearance for his national team.

The final name to be dropped from the squad is Marseille’s Balerdi, another young defender with just 2 senior caps for Argentina.

Lionel Messi will captain the side two years after taking them to glory in the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Lionel Messi scored twice as Argentina beat Guatemala 4-1 in their final friendly before Copa America (Image: Getty)

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez are other notable inclusions.

Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez makes the team having underwent hernia surgery in April, ruling him out of the final months of the season.

After not featuring in either of the two friendlies before the tournament, young winger Alejandro Garnacho is another surprise inclusion, as he joins Manchester United team mate Lisandro Martinez, who missed much of the 2023/24 Premier League season due to injuries.

Argentina squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Franco Armani (River Plate), Geronimo Rulli (Ajax)

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Maritnez (Manchester United), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon)

Midfielders: Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Leandro Paredes (Roma), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur)

Forwards: Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Valentin Carboni (Monza), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)