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Alejandro Garnacho has officially been left out of Argentina’s national team squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The name of Alejandro Garnacho is missing from the 26-man list announced by Argentina’s head coach, Lionel Scaloni.

Scaloni reportedly opted not to call up the winger as he was deemed to have lost competition for the left-wing position and failed to make a strong impression throughout the season with Chelsea.

Instead, Scaloni included Thiago Almada and Nico Gonzalez, who are considered to be in better tactical condition and form.

Garnacho’s name had once become quite popular in Indonesia.

He was famously outperformed by former PSM Makassar player, Asnawi Mangkualam.

This happened during the friendly match between Indonesia and Argentina at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta on Monday, June 19, 2023.

Alejandro Garnacho, an Argentine winger, had to face Indonesia’s captain, Asnawi Mangkualam, in that match.

Asnawi successfully ‘pocketed’ Garnacho on several occasions during the game.

In the 79th minute, Asnawi boldly cleared the ball from Garnacho, who was attempting a breakthrough from Argentina’s left flank.

Then, in the 89th minute, Asnawi once again managed to neutralise Garnacho’s movement with a perfectly clean tackle.

That sequence of play frustrated Garnacho, who retaliated with a foul after attempting to tackle Asnawi in return.

Following the match, “Asnawi” became a trending topic on Twitter on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.

It was later revealed that Asnawi had studied Garnacho’s playing style before the match began.

He prepared himself by watching several videos of Garnacho’s previous performances.

“It wasn’t intentional, really. Before the match, netizens asked me to tackle Messi first — but since he didn’t play, they told me to go for Garnacho instead,” said Asnawi in an interview.

“So I watched Garnacho’s videos,” he added.

After studying several of Garnacho’s match clips, Asnawi learned about the Manchester United youngster’s dribbling patterns.

According to Asnawi, Garnacho often moved slightly away from the ball while sprinting.

That observation became Asnawi’s key to executing his well-timed sliding tackles.

“From what I saw, Garnacho likes to push the ball forward when sprinting, which makes it easier to perform a sliding tackle. That helped me anticipate his moves better,” Asnawi explained.

Following the match, Asnawi Mangkualam’s name became widely discussed.

Although Indonesia lost 0–2 to Argentina, many praised the former PSM Makassar player for his impressive defensive display.

Asnawi’s performance dominated social media discussions on Twitter after the game ended.

Many fans applauded the Indonesian captain for his outstanding composure and timing.

Playing for Jeonnam Dragons, Asnawi executed several crucial clearances and interceptions throughout the game.

According to Fotmob statistics, Asnawi won four of the six tackles he attempted.

The Makassar-born player, who was born on October 4, 1999, also made four key clearances and five recoveries.

He received a match rating of 6.9, the second-highest after Marc Klok, who earned a 7.0 rating.

In the match attended by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Asnawi played the full 90 minutes.

Before facing Garnacho, Asnawi had already been keeping a close watch on the right side of the defence against Nicolas Gonzalez’s attacks for 60 minutes.

After Garnacho replaced Gonzalez, Asnawi’s defensive intensity increased even further.

Full Argentina squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup:

Goalkeepers:

Juan Musso (Atletico Madrid)

Geronimo Rulli (Marseille)

Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)

Defenders:

Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille)

Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon)

Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate)

Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United)

Cristian Romero (Tottenham)

Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica)

Facundo Medina (Marseille)

Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders:

Leandro Paredes (River Plate)

Rodrigo de Paul (Inter Miami)

Valentin Barco (Strasbourg)

Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis)

Ezequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen)

Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)

Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea)

Forwards:

Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid)

Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)

Nicolas Gonzalez (Atletico Madrid)

Thiago Almada (Atletico Madrid)

Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid)

Nico Paz (Como)

Jose Manuel Lopez (Palmeiras)

Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)