Messi left out of Argentina squad for FIFA World Cup Qatar qualifiers
Lionel Messi has been left off Argentina's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia to allow the forward to rebuild his match fitness at Paris Saint-Germain as he recovers from COVID-19.
Argentina qualified for the World Cup finals, as it occupies second place with 29 points, 6 points behind Brazil whom now on top, and 6 points behind Ecuador, which is in third place.
Lionel Scaloni, coach of the “Tango” team, will visit Chile on January 28, while Colombia hosts next February 2. Argentina's list is as follows:
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani (River Plate), Esteban Andrada (Monterrey/MEX)Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa/ENG), Juan Musso (Atalanta/ITA)
Defenders: Nahuel Molina (Udinese/ITA), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla/ESP), German Pezzella (Real Betis/ESP), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica/POR), Lisandro Martinez (Ajax/NED), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina/ITA), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax/NED), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla/ESP)
Midfielders: Lucas Ocampo (Sevilla/ESP), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Leandro Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis/SPA), Giovanni Lo Celso (Tottenham/ENG), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton/ENG), Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa/ENG), Alejandro Gomez (Sevilla/ESP)
Forwards: Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint- Germain/FRA), Joaquin Correa (Inter Milan/ITA) ), Julian Alvarez (River Plate), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan/ITA), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid/ESP),
Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina/ITA, Paulo Dybala (Juventus, Italy).