Argentina will have an unusual case in Nicolas Paz at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Argentina arrived in the United States last weekend to begin the final stage of their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Among the 26 players on the roster is Nicolas Paz, who is poised to become a unique case in the history of the national team.
“Nico Paz will become the first player in Argentina national team history to play in a World Cup without ever having played for a club in the country, including at the youth level,” Marca reported on Tuesday, citing a statistic provided by the X account Siempre Seleccion.
Nicolas was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, in 2004, but chose to represent Argentina because of his family roots. His father, Pablo Paz, was also a soccer player and was part of Argentina‘s squad at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where he appeared in a match against Croatia.
However, the young midfielder has never spent any stage of his career in the South American country. He began playing youth soccer with Atletico San Juan and later moved to C.D. Tenerife, both in his hometown, before attracting the attention of Real Madrid.
Nicolas Paz made his professional debut with Real Madrid.
With Los Blancos, he progressed through the club’s youth system before making his professional debut in November 2023. After appearing in eight matches and scoring one goal for Real Madrid, Paz was loaned to — and later permanently signed by — Italy’s Como 1907, where he has spent the last two seasons.
Nicolas Paz’s history with Argentina
Nico Paz will arrive at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as one of the least experienced international players on the team’s roster. He has made just eight appearances for Argentina since debuting against Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier in October 2024. Since then, the 21-year-old midfielder has played four official matches and four friendlies.
Other similar cases to Nicolas Paz
While no Argentina player has ever appeared in a World Cup without previously playing for a club in the country, there have been several examples of players reaching that level without ever playing professionally in Argentina.
The most obvious example is Lionel Messi. He played youth soccer for several clubs in Rosario, most notably Newell’s Old Boys, before moving to Barcelona as a teenager, where he made his professional debut in 2004. To date, he has never played professionally for an Argentine club.
A similar case is Emiliano Martinez, who left Independiente at age 17 to join Arsenal and has since spent his entire professional career in Europe. There is also another current example on Argentina’s World Cup roster: Giuliano Simeone, who left River Plate to follow his father to Atletico Madrid.