Who replaced the injured Leonardo Balerdi in Argentina's 2026 squad?

Marcos Senesi replaced the injured Leonardo Balerdi in Argentina’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad. The change was made shortly before the tournament after Balerdi suffered a muscle injury in his right soleus and was ruled out.

Senesi was a natural defensive replacement: he is a left-footed centre-back with previous experience for Argentina. Although he had not initially made the final 26-man list, FIFA’s tournament rules allowed a player to be replaced before the team’s first match when a serious injury or illness was confirmed by the relevant medical authorities.

The call-up also produced a memorable personal story. Senesi had already been left out of the original squad and was on holiday when Argentina selected him. He joined the team ahead of its opener against Algeria. The common mix-up is to confuse him with Gonzalo Montiel or Facundo Medina, who were also defenders connected with Argentina’s squad, but neither replaced Balerdi.