Martino names Argentina squad for friendlies
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino has made three surprise inclusions in his squad for the upcoming friendlies with El Salvador and Ecuador in Washington and New Jersey.
Having named the foreign-based players for his final squad before the Copa announcement, Martino could hand a debut to Real Sociedad goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.
The 22-year-old has impressed for David Moyes' side in La Liga this term and is joined by two other surprise inclusions - Mateo Musacchio and Lucas Orban.
Villarreal defender Musacchio has not featured for his national side since 2011, while Orban's last Argentina appearance came in November 2013.
There is no space, however, for highly-rated trio Pablo Vietto, Paulo Dybala or Mauro Icardi, with domestic players due to be added to the squad in due course.
Squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Nahuel Guzman (Tigres), Sergio Romero (Sampdoria), Geronimo Rulli (Real Sociedad).
Defenders: Ezequiel Garay (Zenit), Mateo Musacchio (Villarreal), Lucas Orban (Valencia), Nicolas Otamendi (Valencia), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Facundo Roncaglia (Genoa), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City).
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Midfielders: Ever Banega (Sevilla), Lucas Biglia (Lazio), Angel Di Maria (Manchester United), Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Javier Pastore (Paris Saint-Germain) Roberto Pereyra (Juventus), Enzo Perez (Valencia).
Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris Saint-Germain), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Carlos Tevez (Juventus).