Lionel Messi Leads Argentina For Last Friendship Match Before Copa America, Paulo Dybala Absent

Lionel Messi is back in the Argentina squad (photo: ig 2leomessi)

JAKARTA - Argentina on Monday 20 May announced a 29-player squad led by Lionel Messi for their final friendly before the Copa America. However, there is no place for striker Paulo Dybala to have struggled with his injury.

Argentina will face Ecuador on June 9 at the Soldier Field Stadium in Chicago and five days later against Guatemala at the Commanders Field in Washington. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has to cut three players from this list to meet the 26-player limits allowed by CONMEBOL for the Copa America, which starts on June 20.

Apart from Messi, Angel Di Maria, Nicolas Otamendi, and other players who won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Scaloni also included young players such as Leonardo Balerdi, Valentin Barco, Alejandro Garnacho, and Valentin Carboni. AS Roma striker Dybala has been sidelined after several injuries that left him out of previous international matches.

Argentina will start their Copa America campaign against Canada on June 20, against Chile five days later and Peru on June 29. The tournament takes place in the United States until July 14.

Argentina Squad:

Goalkeeper: Franco Armani (River Plate), Geronimo Rulli (Ajax), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)

Defender: Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique de Marseille), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Leandro Martinez (Manchester United), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Valentin Barco (Brighton)

Midfielder: Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Leandro Paredes (Roma), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayern Leverkusen), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Giovanni Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Valentin Carboni (AC Monza)

Attacker: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)