Argentina name seven newcomers for World Cup qualifiers

Buenos Aires, March 19

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has included seven uncapped players in his squad for World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador, the Argentine Football Association said.

The newcomers are Inter Milan brothers Franco and Valentin Carboni, Manchester United midfielder Alejandro Garnacho, Real Madrid midfielder Nicolas Paz, Villarreal midfielder Tiago Geralnik, Lazio midfielder Luka Romero and Juventus forward Matias Soule.

The 33-man squad, which was selected from a provisional list of 44 announced on March 6, is led by Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi, who missed Argentina's last qualifiers because of COVID-19, Xinhua reports.

The Albiceleste will meet Venezuela in Buenos Aires on March 25 and Ecuador in Guayaquil four days later.

The two-time World Cup winners have already qualified for football's showpiece tournament, to be played in Qatar from November 21 to December 18.

Following is the Argentina squad:

Goalkeepers: Franco Armani (River Plate), Juan Musso (Atalanta). Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal).

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Nahuel Molina (Udinese), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Ajax), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax).

Midfielders: Franco Carboni (Inter), Leandro Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Luka Romero (Lazio), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton), Valentin Carboni (Inter), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Paz (Real Madrid), Tiago Geralnik (Villarreal), Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United).

Forwards: Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Matias Soule (Juventus), Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla), Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Joaquin Correa (Inter) Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), Lucas Boye (Elche), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Julian Alvarez (River Plate).