The biggest surprise from last month’s Copa America selection was Paulo Dybala’s absence from Argentina’s squad in the United States. At that time, coach Lionel Scaloni announced Dybala’s absence due to football reasons. After that, he did not have a place in the Argentina team for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers announced a few days ago. However, this forward got a call to the World Cup qualifying team at the last moment very suddenly.
Dybala’s inclusion was confirmed in a post on the Argentina football team’s official X (formally known as twitter) account. Argentinian media reported that Dybala was originally called up as a replacement for Lionel Messi, who was ruled out of the team due to a serious ankle injury.
In addition, the media said that the return of Dybala’s team has been made easier by turning down a big offer from the Saudi Arabian club Al-Qadsiyyah and staying in Roma. Dybala himself said that his decision not to go to Saudi Arabia was due to the fact that he considered returning to the national team.
Paulo Dybala’s statement
Speaking to reporters recently, Dybala said, “Everyone looks at the money, but I took many things into consideration in making the decision. I put forward my desire to return to my family, wife, city, team and national team. I am 30 and I feel great. I have heard a lot of criticism about the injury. But I work hard every day to take care of myself and try to do the best I can”, he said about Saudi Arabia’s rejection of the offer.
Earlier, on August 19, Scaloni announced Argentina’s World Cup selection team without Messi. There were two new faces in the 28 man squad—Valentín Castellanos and Matias Soule. 25 year old forward Castellanos plays for Italian club Lazio. And 21 year old Sule plays for another Italian club, AS Roma.
It should be noted that Argentina will play their seventh match in the 2026 World Cup qualifier against Chile in Buenos Aires on September 5. Four days later, the world champions will play against the hosts in Colombia.
