Higuain the odd man out as Argentina sets squad for crucial qualifiers

There's still no room for Gonzalo Higuain.

The Juventus striker was left off Argentina's squad for its final two World Cup qualifiers in October, the second straight time he's failed to earn a call-up.

Manager Jorge Sampaoli stuck with Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala, and Mauro Icardi as his attacking talent for the matches against Peru and Ecuador.

La Albiceleste is outside of the automatic qualification berths, with Peru holding one of them in fourth place. Argentina needs at least three points from its final two outings to secure passage to the 2018 World Cup.

Since being appointed as Edgardo Bauza's successor in May, Sampaoli has made a great effort to reintegrate Icardi. The Inter striker had waited nearly three years for a call-up, despite scoring regular at club level with the Nerazzurri.

Higuain is now the odd man out.

Here's the rest of Sampaoli's 21-man squad:

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero, Nahuel Guzman, Agustin Marchesin

Defenders: Federico Fazio, Emanuel Mammana, German Pezzella, Javier Mascherano, Nicolas Otamendi, Gabriel Mercado

Midfielders: Marcos Acuna, Angel Di Maria, Lucas Biglia, Leandro Paredes, Ever Banega, Alejandro Gomez, Eduardo Salvio, Emiliano Rigoni

Forwards: Messi, Aguero, Icardi, Dybala