Messi leads Argentina’s squad for the pre-Copa América friendlies

BUENOS AIRES – Argentina named a 29-man squad led by Lionel Messi for their final Copa America friendlies on Monday, but there was no room for striker Paulo Dybala, who has been struggling with injuries.

Argentina will play Ecuador on June 9 at Soldier Field Stadium in Chicago and five days later against Guatemala at Commanders Field in Washington.

Coach Lionel Scaloni will have to drop three players from the list to meet the limit of 26 allowed by CONMEBOL for the Copa America, which starts on June 20.

In addition to Messi, Angel Di Maria, Nicolas Otamendi and other players who won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Scaloni has also included youngsters Leonardo Balerdi, Valentin Barco, Alejandro Garnacho and Valentin Carboni.

AS Roma striker Dybala is the big absentee after several injuries that have ruled him out of previous international matches.

Argentina kicks off their Copa America campaign against Canada on June 20, before taking on Chile five days later and Peru on June 29. The tournament in the United States runs until July 14.

Argentinian selection:

Goalkeepers: Franco Armani (River Plate), Geronimo Rulli (Ajax) and Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique de Marseille), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), the German Pezzella (Real Betis), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica) ), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon) and Valentin Barco (Brighton)

Midfielders: Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Leandro Paredes (Roma), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayern Leverkusen), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur) , Angel Di Maria (Benfica) and Valentin Carboni (AC Monza)

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) and Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) REUTERS