Garnacho left out of Argentina's World Cup preliminary squad after difficult Chelsea debut season

Alejandro Garnacho will not be part of Argentina’s World Cup squad this summer after being left out of the reigning world champions’ preliminary player list. The 21-year-old winger, who moved from Manchester United to Chelsea for £40 million last summer, has not featured for the national team since a qualifying appearance 18 months ago.

Garnacho made his senior Argentina debut in the summer of 2023 and went on to appear at the 2024 Copa America, which Argentina won, making one appearance during the tournament. He has earned eight caps in total, including three during World Cup qualifying, but his omission from the preliminary squad effectively ends his involvement in this summer’s competition.

His former Manchester United team-mate Lisandro Martinez did make the cut, along with fellow Premier League players Alexis Mac Allister, Cristian Romero, Emiliano Martinez and Enzo Fernandez. Lionel Messi will lead the squad into his sixth World Cup, joined by Palmeiras striker Jose Manuel Lopez, Inter’s Lautaro Martinez and Como midfielder Nicolas Paz.

Garnacho is the most-capped forward to miss out from the preliminary list. Franco Mastantuono, who has half as many caps but earned all of them after Garnacho’s last call-up, was another notable absentee following his debut season at Real Madrid. Claudio Echeverri, on loan at Girona from Manchester City, also missed out despite being named in the preliminary squad, alongside Emiliano Buendia, Matias Soule, Santiago Castro and others.

Half of the forwards who did make the squad played for Atletico Madrid last season, with Giuliano Simeone, Nicolas Gonzalez, Julian Alvarez and Thiago Almada all included.

Garnacho had spoken in December about his hopes that the move to Chelsea would reinvigorate his career. “Sometimes in life you have to change things to take a step forward or improve as a player,” he said. “I think it was the right moment and the right club, so it was an easy decision. I came here to play my football and show people the player I am. The most important thing is confidence.”

The winger made 43 appearances across all competitions for Chelsea during the season, scoring eight goals and contributing assists, but his form was not enough to earn a recall to Lionel Scaloni’s squad.