Lionel Messi named in Argentine squad for the first time since Fifa World Cup

Argentina captain Lionel Messi makes his comeback to the national squad after eight months of absence from national duty as Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni named Messi in the 31-man squad for the upcoming friendlies against Venezuela and Morocco on the 23rd and 27th of March (IST).

The all-time leading goal-scorer for Argentina took a 'break' from international football after their early exit in the World Cup. Though he did not mention any date or time, it was expected that he will return to the squad for the Copa America, where he will look to exorcise demons from his past.

After three losses in three consecutive finals with Argentina, Messi temporarily retired from the national team in 2016 but came back to the national set-up soon after. At a time when it looked like Argentina might not qualify for the World Cup, Messi scored a hattrick in a really tense match in Quito against Ecuador and single-handedly took them to the 2018 Russia World Cup.

Messi’s Argentina bowed out of the world cup after losing 4-3 in the round of 16 tie against the eventual winner, France. The performance of Argentina, in general, was disappointing and the Barcelona superstar scored once only and assisted two goals throughout the World Cup.

Apart from Messi, Paulo Dybala of Juventus and Lautaro Martínez, the Inter Milan winger, were also called up to the Argentina squad. Ángel Di María, the PSG midfielder is also recalled to the national team after his recent stunning displays for PSG in Ligue 1. Real Betis’s Giovani Lo Celso and Leandro Paredes of PSG also made the cut.

The only noticeable absentee is Manchester City's Sergio Agüero, who despite leading the golden boot race in the Premier League with 18 goals, doesn't make it to the squad.