Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has named the 55-man longlist of players for the 2026 World Cup, including Lautaro Martinez, Matias Soulé and Nico Paz, but not Paulo Dybala.

The Seleccion are the reigning World Champions, having won the trophy in 2022 in Qatar, and go into this tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico as one of the favourites.

There is no shortage of talent to choose from and many of them ply their trade in Serie A.

Lautaro Martinez is not in doubt, as the Inter striker and Capocannoniere was a key figure in their Copa America triumph two years ago.

Others included in the 55-man longlist who play in Serie A are Como talent Nico Paz, Roma’s Soulé, Como midfielder Maximo Perrone, Bologna striker Santiago Castro and Parma centre-forward Mateo Pellegrino.

Nico Gonzalez is there too, currently on loan at Atletico Madrid from Juventus.

However, Roma veteran Dybala is not even in the extended Argentina list, meaning he has no hope of participating in the World Cup this summer.

La Joya just completed his comeback from injury and had his first start since January 25, but it was not enough to convince Scaloni.

Someone who is included for Argentina is Gianluca Prestianni, the Benfica winger currently suspended after alleged racist insults towards Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid during a Champions League match.

Lionel Messi is there too, although the legend now at Inter Miami has not yet confirmed he wants to be at the World Cup for Argentina.

Argentina longlist for World Cup

Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Geronimo Rulli (Olympique Marseille), Juan Musso (Atletico Madrid), Walter Benítez (Crystal Palace), Facundo Cambeses (Racing Club), Santiago Beltran (River Plate).

Defenders: Agustin Giay (Palmeiras), Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Nicolas Capaldo (Hamburg), Kevin Mac Allister (Union Saint-Gilloise), Lucas Martinez Quarta (River Plate), Marcos Senesi (Bournemouth), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), German Pezzella (River Plate), Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique Marseille), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Lautaro Di Lollo (Boca Juniors), Zaid Romero (Getafe), Facundo Medina (Olympique Marseille), Marcos Acuña (River Plate), Nicolas Tagliafico (Olympique Lyon), Gabriel Rojas (Racing Club).

Midfielders: Maximo Perrone (Como), Leandro Paredes (Boca Juniors), Guido Rodriguez (Valencia), Anibal Moreno (River Plate), Milton Delgado (Boca Juniors), Alan Varela (Porto), Ezequiel Fernandez (Bayer Leverkusen), Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Nicolas Dominguez (Nottingham Forest), Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa), Nicolas Paz (Como), Franco Mastantuono (Real Madrid), Thiago Almada (Atletico Madrid), Tomas Aranda (Boca Juniors), Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Claudio Echeverri (Girona), Gianluca Prestianni (Benfica).

Forwards: Santiago Castro (Bologna), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), José Manuel Lopez (Palmeiras), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Mateo Pellegrino (Parma), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Nicolas Gonzalez (Atletico Madrid/Juventus), Alejandro Garnacho (Chelsea), Matías Soulé (Roma), Valentin Barco (Strasbourg)

France can win the 2026 World Cup but Kylian Mbappe’s ego has the potential to cause “trouble” for Didier Deschamps’ side, according to Emmanuel Petit.

Mbappe is one of the best players in the world on his day, and has a great history at the World Cup, scoring for Les Bleus in their final victory in 2018, and even bagging a hat-trick as they lost on penalties to Argentina in 2022.

DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAY

Still, Petit has his concerns about how Mbappe fits into this France team, with the former Arsenal midfielder and World Cup winner with France back in 1998 making it clear he feels the Real Madrid star needs to play on the left.

Petit says he wants to see Mbappe out wide rather than up front, with Ousmane Dembele taking up that central role, and with Michael Olise on the right-hand side.

Kylian Mbappe could be an issue for France at the World Cup

Discussing how Mbappe could impact France’s World Cup hopes, Petit told the Sun: “Mbappe is playing up front as a striker. Dembele is playing up front as a striker. Ask Didier Deschamps, the French manager, ‘Who is going to play?’

“If I am Didier Deschamps, for me it’s very simple. Ask Kylian Mbappe to play on the left, the way he was brilliant for years with Paris Saint-Germain.

“Ask Dembele to play up front as a striker, and I ask Olise to play as a right winger.

Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

“If you do like that, I’m pretty sure France will win the World Cup. If you don’t do that and you want to go the same way that Madrid has been doing with Kylian Mbappe then you’re going to have trouble.

“Egos in the dressing room will come out, and the trouble will start in the team.”

Can France win third World Cup?

France have won the World Cup twice before, in 1998 and 2018, and they’ll be one of the favourites for this year’s tournament in North America.

More Stories / Latest News

Video: Brentford denied clear penalty vs Manchester City – Arsenal fans will be furious

May 9 2026, 20:05

“Enough of the excuses” – former Liverpool star calls for Arne Slot to be sacked

May 9 2026, 19:13

Report: Liverpool keen on signing 6ft 3in RB Leipzig star along with Yan Diomande

May 9 2026, 18:45

France are in Group I with Senegal, Norway, and Iraq, and will hope to avoid a repeat of 2002 when they lost their opening group game against Senegal and ended up exiting the tournament early.

Mbappe could prove a difficult character for Deschamps to manage, and it will be an interesting situation to watch if this talented squad once again suffers from too many competing egos.

The post France can win World Cup but Kylian Mbappe could cause “trouble”, says 1998 winner appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez will reportedly look to discuss his future with the club before the upcoming 2026 World Cup this summer.

The Argentina international has shone during his time at Atletico, having also previously shown he can do it in the Premier League during a spell with Manchester City.

DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAY

Following a fine season in which he’s scored 20 goals and contributed eight assists, Alvarez has been linked with Arsenal by a number of sources, including journalist Ben Jacobs in the X post below…

?? Diego Simeone on Julian Alvarez's future. "I’m not inside Julian Alvarez’s head. But it’s normal that an extraordinary player like Julian Alvarez is wanted by Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona."

As previously reported, Atleti will fight to keep Alvarez this summer… pic.twitter.com/jQoiLeOyoy

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) April 28, 2026

Now there’s been an update on the situation, with Mundo Deportivo reporting that Alvarez could look to resolve his future before the World Cup this summer.

The report mentions Barcelona also being interested in the 26-year-old, but it’s not necessarily going to be a straightforward deal to get done.

Julian Alvarez transfer might be too expensive for Barcelona

Mundo Deportivo states that Alvarez is aware of interest from Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, though he seems to be personally favouring Barca if possible.

The issue, according to the report, is that Barcelona would likely need Alvarez’s price tag to come down from the €100m that is currently expected to be his valuation.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but it could end up being the case that the Catalan giants simply can’t afford the former Man City man, giving the advantage back to Arsenal.

More Stories / Latest News

Sources: Talks planned as Arsenal alerted to surprise potential Manchester City transfer raid

May 8 2026, 8:47

Sky journo confirms midfielder is eyeing summer exit from Man United

May 8 2026, 8:21

Keane drops brutal reality check on Carrick’s chances to become permanent Man United boss

May 8 2026, 8:01

Arsenal could do with signing Julian Alvarez

The Gunners knocked Alvarez and Atletico out of the Champions League this week, but the north London giants will be under no illusions about their need to strengthen in attack this summer.

Viktor Gyokeres’ form has improved recently, but overall he’s looked slightly limited with his performances up front this season, and someone like Alvarez would surely represent an upgrade.

See the graphic above for a detailed look at some of their key stats this season, which perhaps highlights how well these two strikers could work together as they offer slightly different skillsets.

Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

The post From Spain: Arsenal transfer target could try to resolve his future before the World Cup appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Christian Pulisic explains how he approached his Milan debut, dealing with the current crisis, his experience at Chelsea and preparing for the USA’s World Cup. ‘I plan on scoring goals.’

The USMNT striker was given the rare honour of being the cover star of Time magazine, as the country gears up for co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico next month.

In a series of interviews, he comes across as serious and focused on his career almost to a fault, with friends and teammates urging him to loosen up.

Pulisic wants to shut critics up

Pulisic was one of the first Americans to really make a name for himself in Europe, at Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and now Milan, but also faced a great deal of criticism.

“When people say that it wasn’t a successful time, it is interesting to me, because I feel like that’s how everyone’s career kind of goes,” said Pulisic of his Chelsea spell.

“It’s not just constantly soaring up.”

He made an immediate impact at Milan after the move in 2018, scoring on his debut in the 2-0 victory over Bologna.

“I didn’t do so much thinking and listening to all types of instruction,” says Pulisic. “I was just like, ‘You know what? I’m just gonna go play.’”

This attitude has served him well so far, but it has all gone wrong in 2026, failing to score a single goal in all competition for the Rossoneri or the USMNT.

When Time asked how he planned on dealing with this incredible slump in form, he was brusque.

“I plan on scoring goals. Such bad questions. I’m not concerned about it, man.”

Yet when he does reflect on previous difficult moments, such as when he was left out of the Gold Cup squad last June, it becomes evident why the current form has been so frustrating.

“That time was difficult for me, because normally I can shut people up with my play. That’s what I’ve done my whole career. I’m in my offseason, so like people are just talking about me, and I can’t just go freaking score and shut them up.”

He has been playing consistently, but not scoring or shutting people up.

“Going at the goal, creating attacking actions, for me, that’s why I play the game,” he noted when discussing his approach.

“You obviously have to do all the other parts, defend and run, different things. That’s fine and all. But what gives me joy and excitement is creating ways to score, and scoring goals and finishing them.”

Pulisic insists he believes America could win the World Cup, but has no intention of making any promises.

“That’s just not how I work. But I can sit in my bed at night and picture holding up the World Cup trophy. I did that as a kid. I’m not going to stop. You have to believe. Why not?”

Real Madrid are starting to realise how important Carlo Ancelotti was to the club, as it’s reported the Italian quashed the tension that erupted today in a brawl that sent players to the hospital.

The incident is all over the headlines in Spain and beyond, with multiple reports of a vicious training ground fight between Aurelien Tchaouameni and Federico Valverde.

The situation was so bad that it’s claimed Valverde was thrown into a table, where he hit his head and was knocked unconscious, taken to hospital for tests and stitches.

This was just 24 hours after the same two teammates reportedly clashed in training, with coach Alvaro Arbeloa seemingly unable or unwilling to intervene.

Ancelotti kept Real Madrid egos in check

Spanish paper AS point out that this is where Ancelotti’s influence at Real Madrid was sorely underestimated, as he had seen similar bubbling tension between players last season, but was able to keep it under control.

The Italian provided an authority and experience of dealing with big egos, still the only coach in history to have won all five major European League titles.

He had two different spells at Real Madrid, from 2013-15 and again from 2021 to 2025.

With the Merengues, Ancelotti won three Champions League trophies, two editions of LaLiga, three European Super Cups, three editions of the Club World Cup, two Copa del Reys and two Spanish Super Cups.

Only now that he has moved on to a new role with the Brazil national team can Real Madrid truly appreciate his man-management skills.

“It is a job with a lot of power and responsibility. I can choose what time I train, who I put in, but in the end, it is a relationship between people,” said Ancelotti.

“That is the most important aspect. Sometimes I ask the players, ‘who are you’ and they tell me ‘I am a player.’ And I tell them ‘no, you are a person who plays football.’

“I try to have a relationship with them on a personal level as well as a professional one, because that way you can get better performance from the professional. It is not easy because the player always wants to play. And 11 do it, but 15 go to watch the game.

“But if you manage to have a good personal relationship with them, this helps you to work better. You have to be honest with people.”