Franco and Valentin Carboni of Inter have both made the Argentina preliminary team for the March World Cup qualifiers.

The two brothers have made the preliminary team for the first time. Franco, the older brother is 18 years old with Valentin being the younger brother at 17 years of age. They are the sons of former Argentine midfielder Ezequiel Carboni. Both players are midfielders and have represented Italy at youth level.

Ezequiel played for Lanus, FC Red Bull Salzburg, Catania and Banfield. As we reported earlier, he was team mates with current Argentina midfielder Alejandro Papu Gómez at Catania.

Argentina play both Venezuela and Ecuador, home and away. Coach Lionel Scaloni has included Franco and Valentin in the preliminary list and here are the players which have been called up for the qualifiers this month:

Goalkeepers:
Franco Armani (River Plate)
Juan Musso (Atalanta)
Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa)
Esteban Andrada (Monterrey)
Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal)

Defenders:
Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla)
Nahuel Molina (Udinese)
Juan Foyth (Villarreal)
Lucas Martínez Quarta (Fiorentina)
Germán Pezella (Real Betis)
Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica)
Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur)
Lisandro Martínez (Ajax)
Nehuén Pérez (Udinese)
Nicolás Tagliafico (Ajax)
Marcos Acuña (Sevilla)

Midfielders:
Franco Carboni (Inter)
Leandro Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain)
Guido Rodríguez (Real Betis)
Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid)
Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen)
Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United)
Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal)
Roberto Pereyra (Udinese)
Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa)
Alejandro Papu Gómez (Sevilla)
Nicolás Gonzalez (Fiorentina)
Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla)
Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United)
Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton)
Nicolas Paz (Real Betis)
Tiago Geralnik (Villarreal)
Valentin Carboni (Inter)

Forwards:
Ángel Di María (Paris Saint-Germain)
Luka Romero (Lazio)
Matias Soulé (Juventus)
Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
Lautaro Martínez (Inter)
Ángel Correa (Atletico Madrid)
Julián Álvarez (River Plate)
Giovanni Simeone (Verona)
Lucas Boyé (Elche)

Lionel Messi is back in the Argentina team as Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United makes the preliminary list.

Messi returns to the Argentina national team as coach Lionel Scaloni has released his preliminary list for the World Cup qualifiers in March. A total of 44 players have been called to the Argentina team with Scaloni selecting many youth players.

Garnacho, only 17 years old, is born in Spain and has represented Spain at youth level. His mother is Argentine and he is eligible to play for the Argentina national team. Luka Romero of Lazio, another 17 year old, has also been included in the preliminary team.

Valentin and Franco Carboni, both from the Inter youth team, are also in the team. Both players have represented Italy at youth level. Their father Ezequiel was team mates with Alejandro Papu Gomez at Catania.

Lucas Boyé has scored seven goals in 20 matches with Elche this season and that has earned the 26 year old a call up to the team. Matias Soulé, the 18 year old from Juventus is also included.

Here is the list:

Goalkeepers:
Franco Armani (River Plate)
Juan Musso (Atalanta)
Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa)
Esteban Andrada (Monterrey)
Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal)

Defenders:
Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla)
Nahuel Molina (Udinese)
Juan Foyth (Villarreal)
Lucas Martínez Quarta (Fiorentina)
Germán Pezella (Real Betis)
Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica)
Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur)
Lisandro Martínez (Ajax)
Nehuén Pérez (Udinese)
Nicolás Tagliafico (Ajax)
Marcos Acuña (Sevilla)

Midfielders:
Franco Carboni (Inter)
Leandro Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain)
Guido Rodríguez (Real Betis)
Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid)
Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen)
Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United)
Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal)
Roberto Pereyra (Udinese)
Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa)
Alejandro Papu Gómez (Sevilla)
Nicolás Gonzalez (Fiorentina)
Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla)
Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United)
Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton)
Nicolás Paz (Real Betis)
Tiago Geralnik (Villarreal)
Valentin Carboni (Inter)

Forwards:
Ángel Di María (Paris Saint-Germain)
Luka Romero (Lazio)
Matias Soulé (Juventus)
Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
Lautaro Martínez (Inter)
Ángel Correa (Atletico Madrid)
Julián Álvarez (River Plate)
Giovanni Simeone (Verona)
Lucas Boyé (Elche)

Paulo Dybala is injured and will not play for Juventus against Spezia.

Dybala was unable to finish the Juventus training session as coach Allegri confirmed that he will not play in their Serie A match on Sunday. Speaking at a press conference, here is what coach Allegri had to say regarding Dybala’s injury:

“Paulo Dybala left training early yesterday. He felt some pain in his thigh, so he won’t be available tomorrow. We’re trying our best to understand the nature of his injuries.”

Argentina play two World Cup qualifying matches in March. The first is on March 25 against Venezuela with the second against Ecuador on March 29 in the last qualifying match of the month.