World Cup 2018: 5 Argentina players who should have been selected in the final squad
With the World Cup 2018 inching closer, the 32 nations have been asked to submit their final 23-man squad for the tournament by June 4th.
Jorge Sampaoli recently released his final squad by leaving 12 players out from his preliminary 35-man squad. With La Albiceleste boasting a bunch of heavyweights in their line-up, the manager has made some questionable squad selection for the sport's greatest competition.
Here's the final 23-man squad that will accompany Sampaoli to Argentina:
Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Manchester United), Willy Caballero (Chelsea), Franco Armani (River Plate)
Defenders: Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), Cristian Ansaldi (Torino), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Federico Fazio (Roma), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon)
Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Hebei China Fortune), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica), Lucas Biglia (AC Milan), Giovani Lo Celso (Paris Saint-Germain), Ever Banega (Sevilla), Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors)
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
While the list looks strong and complete enough to compete for the World Cup glory, here are five such Argentinians La Albiceleste might miss in the tournament.
#5 German Pezzella
Fiorentina centre-back German Pezzella, a rather unknown name alongside the heavyweights of Argentina, was left out of the World Cup squad. His inclusion would have made more sense ahead of Gabriel Mercado, who recently encountered an injury against Real Betis.
Should Mercado fail to recover in time for the tournament, Argentina will be forced to field a defence scarce of experience. German Pezzella could have extended a helping hand in that case.
Pezzella has also proved himself better than Mercado in several other instances. According to Squwaka.com, the Fiorentina centre-back has managed a defensive average score of 6.95 in contrast to Mercado's 5.52.
With Pezzella left out of the 23-man squad, all we can do is pray that Sampaoli doesn't regret his decision in the World Cup.