Argentina recall Higuain for Brazil, Colombia qualifiers

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina, still without the injured Lionel Messi and goalless in their opening two 2018 World Cup qualifiers, recalled striker Gonzalo Higuain on Monday for next month’s games against Brazil and Colombia.

Coach Gerardo Martino dropped the Napoli marksman earlier in October for the South American group matches from which Argentina took one point after a shock 2-0 home defeat by Ecuador followed by a 0-0 draw in Paraguay.

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero was missing from the squad posted on the Argentine FA website (www.afa.org.ar) because he is still recovering from a leg injury that forced him off after half an hour against Ecuador.

Carlos Tevez, looking for his first international goal in four years, is retained as back-up while Juventus’ Paulo Dybala, who won his first cap as a substitute in the draw in Asuncion, has also been included in a 25-man squad.

Messi is expected to be out for a total of seven to eight weeks after injuring his knee while playing for Barcelona a month ago.

Argentina are seventh in the 10-nation South American group, five points behind leaders Uruguay, Ecuador and Chile.

They host arch-rivals Brazil in Buenos Aires on Nov. 12 and visit Colombia five days later.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Manchester United), Nahuel Guzman (UANL Tigres), Agustin Marchesin (Santos Laguna)

Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta, Nicolas Otamendi, Martin Demichelis (all Manchester City), Emmanuel Mas (San Lorenzo), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Facundo Roncaglia (Fiorentina), Ezequiel Garay (Zenit St Petersburg), Ramiro Funes Mori (Everton)

Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Lucas Biglia (Lazio), Matias Kranevitter (River Plate), Ever Banega (Sevilla), Angel Di Maria, Javier Pastore (both Paris St Germain), Enzo Perez (Valencia), Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur)

Forwards: Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Carlos Tevez (Boca Juniors), Nicolas Gaitan (Benfica), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris St Germain).

(Writing by Rex Gowar; Editing by Tony Jimenez)