After his unexpected omission, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni explained his decision to leave Paulo Dybala out of the preliminary squad for the 2026 World Cup. Lionel Scaloni is putting the finishing touches on Argentina‘s 26-man World Cup squad as the defending champions prepare to take the field in North America, though several members of the 2022 title-winning group have already been left behind. Among those names, the head coach has addressed one of the most talked-about omissions by explaining why Paulo Dybala was left off the preliminary roster entirely. On May 11, Scaloni released a preliminary list of 55 players in contention for the final 26 spots. But one of the most striking absences was Dybala, who despite a strong finish to the season at AS Roma was not included even in the extended pool, a decision that raised considerable eyebrows among Argentina supporters. Speaking to DSports, Scaloni addressed the omission directly. “Paulo, it goes without saying that he is a great player. He has come back in an exceptional way with his team, they have qualified for the Champions League with a very strong showing from him. But this is how it always is: young players emerge who contribute, there are players who have consolidated themselves in that position, they deserve an opportunity, and we have made the decision to include other players,” the coach said. One of the underlying factors in the decision is Dybala’s extended absence from the national team setup. His most recent call-up came in September 2024, when he contributed just 16 minutes across the World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Colombia. Since then, he has missed every Argentina international window while other players, most notably Nico Paz and Emiliano Buendia, have established themselves in the squad. Paulo Dybala of Argentina kisses the FIFA World Cup winning trophy. Now 32, Dybala was also passed over with an eye on where Argentina is headed beyond this tournament. “There is no doubt about the quality he possesses; we love him, he is a spectacular guy, but we look at the present and what others can give us in the future. There are other world champions who were also left out, but this goes day by day, and we have made that decision,” Scaloni said. The 2025-26 season was a challenging one for Dybala on multiple fronts. He first had to adapt to Gian Piero Gasperini’s system at AS Roma before undergoing knee surgery that cost him a significant stretch of the campaign. He did contribute four assists across the final three matches of Roma’s five-game winning streak to clinch a Champions League qualification spot, but the timing of those performances came largely before Scaloni’s preliminary list was released, leaving him precious little opportunity to change the coach’s mind. 2022 World Cup winners already left out of the 2026 edition While Dybala played a peripheral but meaningful role in the 2022 World Cup run, contributing 16 minutes in the semifinal and entering the final against France in time to clear one of Kylian Mbappe’s dangerous moments and convert his penalty in the shootout, that legacy was not enough to secure him a place in 2026. He is far from alone among the champions who have been passed over. Of the 2022 title-winning squad, the players absent from Scaloni’s 55-man preliminary list are Franco Armani, Juan Foyth, Alejandro Gomez, Angel Correa, Paulo Dybala and Angel Di Maria. Of those, only Armani and Di María have officially retired from international football, while Foyth suffered an ACL injury that ruled him out of contention. The exclusions of Correa, Dybala and Gómez are entirely a matter of Scaloni’s own choosing.