Argentina began its title defence in its FIFA World Cup 2026 opener at the Kansas City Stadium, but they have been chasing glory without the veteran presence of Angel Di Maria. The reason for his absence is a personal decision he made back in 2024.
Why is Angel Di Maria not playing in the 2026 World Cup?
Di Maria is not playing in the Argentina vs Algeria FIFA World Cup 2026 match even though he has been a vital player for Argentina since his debut in 2008. After Argentina’s victory at the 2024 Copa America, Di Maria officially retired from international duty. However, decided to keep playing at the club level. He made an emotional return to his boyhood team, Rosario Central, in Argentina.
Di Maria, 38, is one of the most iconic figures in Argentine soccer history. His wins include everything with La Albiceleste: the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2007, an Olympic Gold Medal in 2008, two Copa America titles (2021 and 2024), the 2022 Finalissima, and, of course, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Di Maria once said, according to Players’ Tribune Football, “They say that my father was an even better footballer than me, but he broke his knees when he was young, and his dream died. They say that my grandfather was even better than him, but he lost both of his legs in a train accident, and his dream died. My dream was close to dying so many times. But my father kept working under the tin roof … my mother kept pedalling … I kept running into space…”
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The quote was a part of a piece Di Maria wrote that was published by the outlet in June 2018. The article was titled, ‘In the Rain, in the Cold, in the Dark’.
He the article, Di Maria wrote about his love for football, “I was obsessed. It’s all I did. I remember that I played so much football that every two months, my boots would literally break apart, and my mother would glue them together with POXI-ran, because we didn’t have the money to buy new ones. When I was seven years old, I must have been pretty good, because I scored 64 goals for my neighborhood team, and my mother came into my bedroom one day and said, “The radio station wants to talk to you.” We went down to the station so they could interview me, and I was so shy that I could barely speak.”
Notably, ever since Di Maria announced his international retirement, the position he vacated on the left side of Argentina’s attack has unsettled. Lionel Scaloni, head coach, previously admitted that the coaching staff tried to convince Di Maria to return.
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“We asked Ángel to come back and say goodbye to the fans. He stepped away, and there was no way to convince him. We tried, but he had already made his decision. His story is like a movie because it ended in the best possible way. He’s a legend. When someone makes a decision like that, it’s because they’ve thought it through. He had plenty of time to reflect, and today we can say it was the right choice because he retired as a champion and as one of the greatest players in our history,” Scaloni said, according to AS USA.
Di Maria made 145 appearances for Argentina, scoring 31 goals and providing 32 assists. He notably made his senior debut on September 6, 2008.
