Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sept 23: Lionel Messi heads Alejandro Sabella's Argentina squad for World Cup qualifying next month, while fellow forward Carlos Tevez of Manchester City has again been omitted.
Tevez was not selected by Sabella for recent friendlies and did not play well with Barcelona star Messi during the Copa America.
Sabella's main surprise was naming forward Rodrigo Palacio of Italian team Genoa for his first appearance on the national team since 2008.
Argentina faces Chile on Oct. 7 in Buenos Aires before playing at Venezuela on Oct. 11 in opening matches of South American qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Sergio Aguero, Tevez's teammate at Manchester City, is likely to team up front with Messi.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Sampdoria), Mariano Andujar (Catania).
Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Nicolas Burdisso (Roma), Federico Fernandez, (Napoli), Martin Demichelis (Malaga), Nicolas Otamendi (Porto), Nicolas Pareja (Spartak Moscow), Marcos Rojo, (Spartak Moscow), Emiliano Insua, (Sporting).
Midfielders: Javier Mascherano, (Barcelona), Ever Banega (Valencia), Fabian Rinaudo, (Sporting), Ricardo Alvarez (Inter), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Jose Sosa (Metalist, Ukraine), Javier Pastore (Paris SG), Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid), Nicolas Gaitan (Benfica).
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Rodrigo Palacio (Genoa), Eduardo Salvio (Atletico Madrid). AP
