Lionel Messi and Paulo Dybala included as Argentina name squad for international friendlies ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup

Argentina have released a 28-man squad led by talismanic forward Lionel Messi for their upcoming international fixtures ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

La Albiceleste will compete in friendlies against Honduras on September 23 and Jamaica on September 27. The first match will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida, while the second will be played at the Red Bull Academy Training Field 1 in New Jersey.

Head coach Lionel Scaloni will hope to give all of his key players some time on the pitch and also pick up two wins to continue their upward momentum.

The South American giants are currently on a 32-match unbeaten run. Their most recent fixture saw them thrash Estonia 5-0 in a friendly back in June. Prior to that, they blanked UEFA Euro 2020 champions Italy 3-0 in La Finalissima. Lionel Messi notably scored five goals and laid out two assists in those two matches.

Here is Argentina's squad for their upcoming friendlies (via Seleccion Argentina on Twitter):

Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Emiliano Martinez, Geronimo Rulli.

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, German Pezzella, Cristian Romero, Neuhen Perez, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Acuna, Facundo Medina, Nicolas Tagliafico.

Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo de Paul, Giovanni Lo Celso, Alejandro Gomez, Thiago Almada.

Attackers: Paulo Dybala, Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez, Joaquin Correa, Angel Correa, Lautaro Martinez.

#SelecciónMayor El entrenador @lioscaloni dio a conocer la lista de convocados para los amistosos ante #Honduras 🇭🇳 y #Jamaica 🇯🇲

📝 bit.ly/3eN8Dhv https://t.co/VescpXQ4LK

Lionel Messi and Argentina kick off their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign on November 22

Argentina have been drawn in Group C at this winter's FIFA World Cup in Qatar and are joined by Poland, Saudi Arabia and Mexico. La Albiceleste will kick off their campaign against the Saudi Arabians on November 22 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

Lionel Scaloni's side will enter the tournament as one of the favorites to go all the way. The reigning Copa America champions have been on a roll over the last two years, led by their talismanic skipper Lionel Messi.

No player has more assists than Lionel Messi in Europe’s major leagues this season (8) 🐐 https://t.co/3w2wfXGSi4

They will also be incredibly happy with the way Messi has started the new club season. The veteran forward has scored five goals and laid out eight assists in 10 matches across all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).