Argentina goes with Messi and seven pledges to double-date playoffs

The French PSG star Lionel Messi, the only Argentine with an insured place for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, was called up for the last double knockout date by DT Lionel Scaloni, who also added seven promising youth players with dual nationality to the roster.

Messi thus returns to the already qualified Albiceleste (35 points) to face the eliminated Venezuela, on March 25 at the 'Bombonera' in Buenos Aires, and Ecuador, on March 29 in Guayaquil, according to the list released this Friday by the Argentine Football Association (AFA).

The 34-year-old captain and scorer of Albiceleste, whom Scaloni defined as the only insurance for the World Cup, had been excluded from the selection at the end of January for the previous double qualifying date, when he had just rejoined PSG after contracting covid-19 in December in Argentina.

The coach gave the mark by adding seven youth players of dual nationality — which he had already included in the preliminary payroll — a way to reserve eventual future stars who will no longer be able to join a national team from another country because they have tried on the Albiceleste shirt.

They are Franco and Valentín Carboni (Inter, ITA), Luka Romero (Lazio, ITA), Matias Soulé (Juventus, ITA), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United, ENG), Nicolás Paz (Real Madrid, ESP) and Tiago Geralnik (Villarreal, ESP).

- Ant work -

The call for almost unknown juveniles in Argentina is not the result of Scaloni's chance or whim, but of a long and silent work started in 2020 when Bernardo Romeo took over as coordinator of Youth Teams at the request of the DT.

In the midst of the outbreak of the pandemic and in the midst of the lack of activity in the sports world, a Scouting Department was created with the intention of going out in search of a promising youth with Argentine nationality, who could one day transform into a Messi, at least a national team player.

So it was that last year, an office was opened in Madrid by the director of Scouting, Juan Martín Tassi. Nowadays, folders of more than 300 players between 11 and 20 years old are in their possession, many of them children of Argentinian emigrants, born in other countries of Latin America or Europe.

This is the case, for example, of Luka Romero, who has already played a U15 with Argentina, who was born in Mexico but who also has Argentinian and Spanish citizenship. There are also Nicolás Paz and Alejandro Garnacho, who played for Spain's U18 but once called up for the biggest Albiceleste they won't be able to return to the 'Roja'.

Meanwhile, Scaloni had to remove goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, defender Cristian Romero and midfielders Giovani Lo Celso and Emiliano Buendía from the payroll. The four were suspended for two dates by FIFA as a result of the controversial Brazil-Argentina classic in September in Sao Paulo, interrupted after 5 minutes of play by Brazilian health authorities in the midst of the covid outbreak.

- The call -

These are the ones called by DT Scaloni:

Archers: Franco Armani (River Plate), Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal) and Juan Musso (Atalanta, ITA).

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Seville, ESP), Nahuel Molina (Udinese, ITA), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica, POR), Juan Foyth (Villarreal, ESP), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina, ITA), Germán Pezzella (Betis, ESP), Lisandro Martinez (Ajax, NED) and Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax).

Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid, ESP), Leandro Paredes (PSG, FRA), Guido Rodriguez (Betis, ESP), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen, GER), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton, ENG), Lucas Ocampos (Seville, ESP), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United, ENG), Manuel Lanzacho (West Ham, ENG), Nicolas Paz (Real Madrid, ESP), Tiago Geralnik ( Villarreal, ESP), Franco Carboni (Inter, ITA) and Valentín Carboni (Inter).

Forwards: Lionel Messi (PSG), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina, ITA), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid, ESP), Angel Di Maria (PSG), Julian Alvarez (River), Joaquin Correa (Inter), Matias Soulé (Juventus, ITA), Lucas Boyé (Elche, ESP)) and Luka Romero (Lazio, ITA).

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