Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has included Lionel Messi in his preliminary list for CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador on Sept. 4 and 9, respectively.

The 31-man squad for the matches includes young talents like Real Madrid 's recent signing Franco Mastantuono and Manchester City 's Claudio Echeverri as well as AFC Bournemouth defender Julio Soler and José Manuel "Flaco" López, who plays for Palmeiras.

The call-up marks the return of Marcos Acuña as well while Manchester United forward Alejandro Garnacho is missing this time around.

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández , who received a two-match suspension for his sending off against Colombia in June, will sit out and instead, FC Porto 's Alan Varela was chosen.

This past March,

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