Messi returns to Argentina fold following 3-month international ban
Barcelona star Lionel Messi was named to Argentina's 26-man squad for a pair of upcoming fixtures after serving a three-month ban for his comments following La Albiceleste's loss to Chile at the Copa America.
Messi, 32, accused CONMEBOL of corruption after being shown a red card in the third-place match versus La Roja, suggesting host Brazil received special treatment from South American football's governing body.
Argentina's all-time leading scorer is an automatic recall for manager Lionel Scaloni, as is Manchester City star striker Sergio Aguero. There are some notable omissions, however.
Despite a stretch of form that arguably marks the best of his career, Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria was not included. Di Maria's club teammate, Mauro Icardi, was also left off amid a stretch of seven goals across five matches in all competitions for the French champions.
Argentina face Brazil on Nov. 15 in Saudi Arabia and Uruguay on Nov. 19 in Israel in a pair of warm-up friendlies ahead of the Copa America qualifiers in 2020.
Here's a look at Scaloni's latest call-ups:
Goalkeepers: Agustin Marchesin (Porto), Juan Musso (Udinese), Emiliano Martinez (Arsenal)
Defenders: Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), German Pezzella (Fiorentina), Juan Foyth (Tottenham), Renzo Saravia (Porto), Walter Kannemann (Gremio), Nehuen Perez (Famalicao), Esteban Andrada (Boca Juniors)
Midfielders: Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham), Marcos Acuna (Sporting CP), Roberto Pereyra (Watford), Rodrigo De Paul (Udinese), Guido Rodriguez (Club America), Nicolas Dominguez (Velez Sarsfield), Leandro Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain)
Forward: Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Lucas Alario (Bayer Leverkusen), Nicolas Gonzalez (Stuttgart), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla)
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