October 05, (THEWILL) – Lionel Messi has been named in Argentina’s squad for their next two World Cup qualifiers, despite missing recent matches for his club, Inter Miami, with injury.
The 36-year-old forward has sat out Miami’s last four games after sustaining a muscle problem last month. He was the match-winner for Argentina in their opening qualifier against Ecuador, scoring from a free kick to secure victory. However, he did not feature in their second match against Bolivia.
The 34-man squad named by manager Lionel Scaloni does not include the injured Angel Di Maria. However, Paulo Dybala returns to the fold having recovered from injury. Argentina host Paraguay at the Monumental Stadium on October 13, before travelling to face Peru at the National Stadium on October 18.
The full squad includes:
GOALKEEPERS
Juan Musso (Atalanta)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Walter Benitez (PSV)
Franco Armani (River Plate)
DEFENDERS
Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid)
German Pezzella (Betis)
Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest)
Juan Foyth (Villarreal)
Cristian Romero (Tottenham)
Nicolas Tagliafico (Olympique Lyon)
Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica)
Lucas Esquivel (Athletico Paranaense)
Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina)
Marco Pellegrino (Milan)
Marcos Acuna (Sevilla)
MIDFIELDERS
Leandro Paredes (Roma)
Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico de Madrid)
Guido Rodriguez (Betis)
Facundo Buonanotte (Brighton)
Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea)
Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)
Exequiel Palacios (Bayern Leverkusen)
Bruno Zapelli (Athletico Paranaense)
Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham)
FORWARD
Lucas Beltran (Fiorentina)
Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
Carlos Alcaraz (Southampton, England)
Thiago Almada (Atlanta United)
Paulo Dybala (Roma)
Facundo Farias (Inter Miami)
Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla)
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
