Argentina hints at post-Messi era in youthful squad

Posted March 07, 2022 6:00 am

The Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - Argentina's squad for the two final rounds of South American World Cup qualifying shows coach Lionel Scaloni could be thinking about the future without Lionel Messi.

Franco and ValentÃn Carboni, Alejandro Garnacho, NicolÃ¡s Paz, Tiago Geralnik and Luka Romero are playing in youth divisions of European clubs, but they were summoned by Argentina on Monday.

Messi was also picked after missing the last two qualifying rounds this year as he recovered from COVID-19.

Argentina faces Venezuela in Buenos Aires on March 25, and four days later Ecuador in Guayaquil.

The six youth division players either were born to Argentine families based in Europe or born in Argentina and started their careers abroad.

Argentina has already qualified for the World Cup in Qatar this year.

___

Argentina:

Goalkeepers: Emiliano MartÃnez (Aston Villa), Franco Armani (River Plate), GerÃ³nimo Rulli (Villarreal) Juan Musso (Atalanta), Esteban Andrada (Monterrey)

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel, Marcos AcuÃ±a (Sevilla), Nahuel Molina, NehuÃ©n PÃ©rez (Udinese), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), NicolÃ¡s Otamendi (Benfica), Juan Foyth (Villareal), Lucas MartÃnez Quarta (Fiorentina), GermÃ¡n Pezzella (Betis), Lisandro MartÃnez, NicolÃ¡s Tagliafico (Ajax)

Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Leandro Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain), Giovani Lo Celso, Tiago Geralnik ( (Villarreal), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Lanzini (West Ham), Guido RodrÃguez (Betis), Roberto Pereyra (Udinese), Emiliano BuendÃa (Aston Villa), Alejandro GÃ³mez, Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton), NicolÃ¡s Paz (Real Madrid), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Franco Carboni, ValentÃn Carboni (Inter Milan)

Forwards: Lionel Messi, Ãngel Di MarÃa (Paris Saint-Germain), Lautaro MartÃnez, Joaquin Correa, Luka Romero (Inter Milan), NicolÃ¡s GonzÃ¡lez (Fiorentina), Ãngel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Paulo Dybala, MatÃas SoulÃ© (Juventus), JuliÃ¡n Ãlvarez (River Plate), Giovanni Simeone (Verona), Lucas BoyÃ© (Elche)

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Article Comments

Article Categories
Content Providers MLS Pro Sports Soccer Sports Sports Leagues Sports Types

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.