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International football

Messi to return to Argentina squad against Brazil and Uruguay

The Barcelona forward will be included in Lionel Scaloni's squad after serving a three-month ban for his comments about CONMEBOL at the Copa América.

Update:
Messi to return to Argentina squad against Brazil and Uruguay

Barcelona and Argentina captain Leo Messi will be included in Lionel Scaloni’s squad for the upcoming fixtures against Brazil and Uruguay, AS understands.

Messi has served a three-month ban for comments he made in the wake of Argentina’s loss to Chile in the third-place playoff match at the Copa América, with the forward accusing governing body CONMEBOL of corruption after being sent off and suggesting that Brazil would receive favourable treatment in the final against Peru, which the Canarinha won 3-1.

Argentina play Brazil on 15 November in Saudi Arabia and then face Uruguay and Luis Suárez in Israel on 19 November in warm-up friendlies ahead of the start of the Copa América qualifiers next year.

Messi seeking Copa redemption on home soil

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Messi is said to have been impressed with Scaloni’s handling of the national team since he replaced Jorge Sampaoli on a permanent basis last November after Argentina’s disappointing World Cup campaign. A thumping victory over Ecuador two weeks ago had Scaloni purring and it seems the former Deportivo player has settled on his squad for the qualifiers and the Copa América, which will be staged in Argentina and Colombia next summer.

While Messi is a shoo-in as he seeks his first major tournament triumph with his country and Sergio Agüero is expected to return for Brazil and Uruguay, it appears that Ángel di María – despite his stunning form for PSG – and his teammate in Paris Mauro Icardi will continue to be overlooked as Scaloni looks to the future with younger talents such as Inter’s Lautaro Martínez and Stuttgart’s Nicolás González.