Argentina: Dybala and Icardi make preliminary squad

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, May 14, 2018

Juventus forward Paulo Dybala and Inter Milan forward Mauro Icardi, who both were excluded from Argentina's squad for its March friendlies, were named to Coach Jorge Sampaoli's 35-player preliminary squad for the World Cup in Russia.

Dybala over Icardi? Dybala helped Juve win its seventh straight Serie A title. He scored 22 goals but only eight in the second half of the season.

His chances of going to Russia are considered higher than those of Icardi, who scored 28 goals for Inter but is rumored to have had his differences with Argentine star Lionel Messi.

Sampaoli had insisted in early April that both players still had shots of going to Russia.

One more week. Sampaoli will name his 23-player squad next Monday afternoon. A majority of the candidates play on European teams that have not completed their league seasons.

Tuneups. Argentina will play Haiti on May 29 in Buenos Aires and at Israel on June 9 before heading to Russia.

First round. Argentina is the top seed in Group D, where it will face Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria in the first round.

Argentina Roster (35 players):
GOALKEEPERS: Sergio Romero (Manchester United/ENG), Wilfredo Caballero (Chelsea/ENG), Nahuel Guzman (Tigres/MEX), Franco Armani (River Plate).
DEFENDERS: Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla/ESP), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica/POR), Javier Mascherano (Hebei China Fortune/CHN), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City/ENG), German Pezzella (Fiorentina/ITA), Federica Fazio (Roma/ITA), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United/ENG), Ramiro Funes Mori (Everton/ENG), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax/NED), Marcos Acuna (Sporting/POR), Cristian Ansaldi (Torino/ITA).
MIDFIELDERS: Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United/ENG), Ricardo Centurion (Racing), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Lucas Biglia (AC Milan/ITA), Guido Pizarro (Sevilla/ESP), Enzo Perez (River Plate), Ever Banega (Sevilla/ESP), Giovani Lo Celso (Paris SG/FRA), Leandro Paredes (Zenit St. Petersburg/RUS), Rodrigo Battaglia (Sporting/POR), Angel Di Maria (Paris SG/FRA), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors), Pablo Perez (Boca Juniors).
FORWARDS: Paulo Dybala (Juventus/ITA), Diego Perotti (Roma/ITA), Lionel Messi (Barcelona/ESP), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City/ENG), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus/ITA), Lautaro Martinez (Racing), Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan/ITA).