Icardi among 35 to make Argentina provisional squad
La Albiceleste persona non grata Mauro Icardi is among 35 players named to Jorge Sampaoli's provisional Argentina squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The national team announced the squad on Monday, meeting FIFA's May 14 deadline. All competing nations have to trim their squads to 23 by June 4 - 10 days before the World Cup kicks off in Moscow.
Icardi, 25, has just four international caps, with Serie A's Capocannoniere runner-up facing stiff competition among a litany of world-class forwards. The Rosario-born goal machine endured a three-year hiatus from FIFA's fifth-ranked side before Sampaoli recalled the player in May 2017 for friendlies against Brazil and Singapore.
[SELECCIÓN MAYOR] Jorge Sampaoli dio a conocer la nómina de 35 jugadores preseleccionados para el Mundial de #Rusia2018. pic.twitter.com/skT2VIZ6Wh
— Selección Argentina (@Argentina) May 14, 2018
Reports surfaced in 2016 suggesting Icardi's exclusion from the national team set-up wasn't simply because of a wealth of attacking talent within the ranks. Lionel Messi's friendship with Udinese's Maxi Lopez had reportedly become a point of contention after Icardi married Lopez's ex-wife Wanda in 2014, allegedly causing a rift among Argentina's squad.
Icardi has 28 goals in 33 Serie A appearances this season for Inter, continuing a profitable stretch that has seen the Argentine register 99 league tallies in five campaigns with I Nerazzurri.
Here's a look at the 35-man squad for a pair of World Cup tune-ups against Haiti on May 29 and Israel on June 9 ahead of its group stage opener with Iceland on June 16:
GK: Sergio Romero (Manchester United), Willy Caballero (Chelsea), Nahuel Guzman (Tigres), Franco Armani (River Plate)
DF: Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica), Javier Mascherano (Hebei China Fortune), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), German Pezzella (Fiorentina), Federico Fazio (Roma), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Ramiro Funes Mori (Everton), Nicolas Tagliafoco (Ajax), Marcos Acuna (Sporting CP), Cristian Ansaldi (Torino)
MF: Manuel Lanzini (West Ham), Ricardo Centurion (Racing Club), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Lucas Biglia (AC Milan), Guido Pizarro (Sevilla), Enzo Perez (River Plate), Ever Banega (Sevilla), Giovani Lo Celso (Paris Saint-Germain), Leandro Paredes (Zenit St. Petersburg), Rodrigo Battaglia (Sporting CP), Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors), Pablo Perez (Boca Juniors)
FW: Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Diego Perotti (Roma), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus), Lautaro Martinez (Racing Club), Mauro Icardi (Inter)