MADRID, 11 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
PSG striker Lionel Messi leads Argentina’s squad for the Qatar World Cup, a list with up to nine footballers from LaLiga Santander, as announced by the Albiceleste coach in a video shared on social media.
The 35-year-old Argentine number 10 will play his fifth World Cup in Qatar, leading a team that is running as a candidate and favorite to lift the long-awaited trophy, the last one left in his private showcase. The PSG player seems to have overcome his Achilles tendon discomfort, and has already returned to training with the Parisian club, after missing his last game.
Spanish football is very well represented in the list drawn up by Lionel Scaloni, with up to nine footballers from LaLiga Santander among the 26 chosen to defend the Albiceleste. Thus, the ‘groguet’ goalkeeper Gero Rulli, the Sevilla wingers Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuña, the rojiblanco winger Nahuel Molina, the Villarreal central defender Juan Foyth, the Betis defender Germán Pezzela, the Verdiblanco midfielder Guido Rodríguez, the playmaker of the Sevilla ‘Papu’ Gómez and Atlético midfielder Rodrigo de Paul.
Roma striker Paulo Dybala will also attend the World Cup, whose physical condition was of concern and has made him doubtful until the end. ‘La Joya’ has not been on the pitch since the beginning of October, so Scaloni will have to check his current physical condition. Perhaps this has left Atlético de Madrid striker Ángel Correa out, while Benfica’s Nicolás González does make the list.
Therefore, the call is made up of goalkeepers Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa), Franco Armani (River Plate) and Gero Rulli (Villarreal); Montiel (Sevilla), Molina (Atlético), Foyth (Villarreal), Pezzela (Betis), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United), Nicolás Otamedi (Benfica), Acuña (Sevilla) and Nicolás Tagliafico (Olympique de Lyon ), as fenders.
In midfield, Guido Rodríguez (Betis), Leandro Paredes (Juventus), Rodrigo de Paul (Atlético), Enzo Fernández (Benfica), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gómez (Sevilla) and Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton). And forwards Lionel Messi (PSG), Paulo Dybala (Roma), Ángel Di María (Juventus), Nicolás González (Fiorentina), Joaquín Correa (Inter Milan), Lautaro Martínez (Inter) and Julián Álvarez (Manchester City).