In the team released by Argentina’s FA on Friday, Pablo Maffeo, a Spanish defender for Mallorca, was called up for the first time. He will play in this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil.
An Argentine mother gave birth to Maffeo, who is 26 years old. Olympiakos left back Francisco Ortega is also new to the team and will play against Uruguay at home on Thursday before going to Brazil five days later.
Lionel Messi, leader and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, has added Angel Di Maria, a forward for Benfica who missed last month’s playoffs because of an illness.
With 12 points from four wins in a row, Argentina is currently in first place in the South American playoffs. With seven points, Uruguay is in second place, tied with Brazil for third and Venezuela for fourth.
The squad:
Asturias’ Juan Musso, Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, PSV Eindhoven’s Walter Benitez, and River Plate’s Franco Armani are all goalkeepers.
For the defence, Gonzalo Montiel plays for Nottingham Forest, Pablo Maffeo for Mallorca, Nahuel Molina for Atletico Madrid, German Pezzella for Real Betis, Cristian Romero for Tottenham Hotspur, Lucas Martinez Quarta for Fiorentina, Nicolas Otamendi for Benfica, Marcos Acuna for Sevilla, Francisco Ortega for Olympiakos, and Nicolas Tagliafico for Olympique Lyon.
Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Exequiel Palacios (Bayern Leverkusen), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur), and Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool) are the midfielders.
As a forward, Paulo Dybala plays for AS Roma, Angel Di Maria for Benfica, Lionel Messi for Inter Miami, Julian Alvarez for Manchester City, Lautaro Martinez for Inter Milan, Nicolas Gonzalez for Fiorentina, and Lucas Ocampos for Sevilla.