Buesnos Aires (Argentina), May 20: Argentina coach Diego Maradona named his final 23-man squad for the World Cup on Wednesday, which includes Lionel Messi of Barcelona, Carlos Tevez of Manchester City and most of the country’s other big stars.
The big surprise was the inclusion of defender Ariel Garce, who played his first international match for Argentina earlier this month against Haiti.
The list released yesterday includes tremendous power up front, led by Messi, Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain.
Argentina faces Canada on Monday at River Plate’s stadium in Buenos Aires, in what is expected to be its last warm-up before the World Cup. The 1978 and ’86 champion opens on June 12 in South Africa against Nigeria and also faces Greece and South Korea in Group B.
Argentine officials confirmed for the first time that the team will depart for South Africa on May 28.
–PTI