Leandro Paredes

Leandro Paredes is in Argentina's preliminary squad for the 2026 World Cup, named by Lionel Scaloni in the 55-man list submitted in May 2026. The Boca Juniors defensive midfielder is 31 at kick-off and brings 77 senior Argentina caps and five international goals into the preliminary squad picture; if he remains in Scaloni's final 26 at kick-off, 2026 would be his second senior World Cup after the 2022 final win in Qatar, where he scored in both shoot-outs of the knockout phase.

Argentina face Algeria, Austria and Jordan in Group J, opening against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on 16 June. Scaloni's side qualified by winning the CONMEBOL round-robin on 25 March 2025, and Paredes is named among the senior midfield options on the preliminary list.

Paredes is a defensive midfielder — screening in front of the back four, progressing the ball from deep, controlling tempo, and reading the game well enough to slow it or speed it as needed. Press resistance under pressure pairs with that holding brief.

His long-range shooting adds a goal threat from outside the box; his first goal for PSG, in April 2021, was a long-range free-kick against Strasbourg. In Scaloni's 4-3-3 his 77 caps and five international goals sit on the preliminary squad sheet among the senior midfield names.

Argentina sit in Tier 1 at £32m within the game's £200m card budget — the premium top band. The Group J draw against Algeria, Austria and Jordan frames the early fixtures, with Scaloni's confirmed 4-3-3 and the CONMEBOL qualifying route behind the team-slot pick.

Paredes contributes a holding-midfield layer to that £32m pick: 77 caps inside the Escaloneta cycle, five international goals, and the long-range shooting from outside the area he showed at PSG paired with the press-resistant tempo control of a senior international holder.