Messi and Buendia in Argentina squad for World Cup Qualifiers, but Dybala and Icardi are left out

Mauro Icardi of Inter Milan-Paulo Dybala of Juventus-Serie A
Mauro Icardi of Inter Milan-Paulo Dybala of Juventus-Serie A | Photo Credit: IMAGO

Argentina have announced their 30-man squad for the World Cup Qualifiers against Chile and Colombia next month.

Unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi has been called up by manager Lionel Scaloni and Norwich midfielder, Emiliano Buendia is also included.

Messi will be coming off a decent season in La Liga, which has seen him garner 30 goals, although Barcelona have been disappointing collectively.

Buendia has been equally impressive for Norwich this season, helping them earn a promotion to the Premier League. The 24-year-old has racked up a total of 15 goals and 16 assists in the EFL Championship this season.

Emiliano Buendia makes the Argentina national team after a stellar season with Norwich. The Argentine is still only 24 years old and was voted as the Best Player of the Championship this season. He also represented Argentina at the U20 World Cup in 2015. Well deserved call.

Messi will lead the attack alongside attackers Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, Joaquin Correa and Lucas Ocampos yet there is no place for Paulo Dybala and Mauro Icardi.

Juventus ace Dybala has endured a torrid season in Serie A, falling down the pecking order of Andrea Pirlo. Furthermore, the Parma star has been heavily linked with a move away from Turin as his contract talks with Bianconeri are up in the air.

As for Icardi, the wait goes on for PSG striker to make a return to the national team, having last featured for the Copa America’s preliminary squad for Copa America 2019 before being left out eventually.

Icardi had seemingly revived his form after a bright start last season but failed to maintain his consistency after that. But he had a mixed season at the French capital.

As far as the midfield is concerned, Papu Gomez, Giovanni Lo Celso, Rodri de Paul, Leandro Paredes and Guido Rodriguez have been called up to the squad.

There are a lot of young talents in the defence with the likes of Juan Foyth, Lucas Martinez and Atalanta’s Christian Romero.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is likely to be the primary option for Scaloni after back to back impressive seasons in the Premier League.

Lionel Scaloni (on Argentina's squad for Copa): “We are a lot of people in the staff, people that know the Argentina National team very well. We watch all the leagues, the performances of the players."

Here is the Argentina squad list

Marcos Acuña (Sevilla), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Lucas Alario (Bayer Leverkusen), Emiliano Buendia (Norwich City), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Joaquin Correa (Lazio), Rodrigo de Paul (Udinese), Angel Di Maria (PSG), Nicolas Dominguez (Bologna), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Alejandro Papu Gomez (Sevilla), Nicolas Gonzalez (Stuttgart), Giovanni Lo Celso (Tottenham), Agustin Marchesin (FC Porto), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Lisandro Martinez (Ajax), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina), Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Nahuel Molina (Udinese), Juan Musso (Udinese), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Cristian Romero (Atalanta), Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Jose Luis Palomino (Atalanta), Leandro Paredes (PSG), German Pezzella (Fiorentina), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax)

ARGENTINA SQUAD