Argentina’s 2018 World Cup squad: Who joins Aguero and Messi in Russia? Jorge Sampaoli has confirmed his 23-man squad to play in Russia, with the likes of Leo and Kun leading the way for 2014's finalists Nothing was easy for Argentina in their tortuous route to Russia 2018. Thanks to their unstoppable captain Lionel Messi, however, the 2014 finalists pulled through and will be in the running for the World Cup. The Albiceleste went through no less than three coaches over the course of qualifying. Both Gerardo Martino and Edgardo Bauza stepped down during South America's gruelling two-year campaign, before Jorge Sampaoli eventually led them through on the very last day of the competition. It was Messi, of course, who made the difference, and the Barcelona wizard is the emblem of an attack that oozes talent. Article continues below Without the star, however, Argentina's last friendly ended in disaster - a 6-1 thrashing to Spain that gives Sampaoli some acute selection headaches. Who joins Leo in Russia, and how will Sampaoli build his starting line-up from the 22 players that join the captain in the squad? Who made Argentina's World Cup squad Having initially picked 35 players in his shortlist, Jorge Sampaoli trimmed that squad down to 23 on Monday to finalise his picks for the tournament. Manchester pair Sergio Romero and Willy Caballero, of United and City respectively, were chosen but Romero will miss the World Cup with a knee injury. That likely leaves Cabellero as the starter with River Plate's Franco Armani as his back-up and Nahuel Guzman of Mexican side Tigres added as a third-choice custodian. In defence, starting centre-back pairing Nicolas Otamendi and Federico Fazio are joined by United's Marcos Rojo, currently recovering from injury, while Javier Mascherano and right-back Gabriel Mercado can also cover the middle. There are also places for Nicolas Tagliafico, Eduardo Salvio, Marcos Acuna and Cristian Ansaldi, the latter appearing apparently from nowhere to take a spot thanks to his versatility in covering both sides of defence. The centre of midfield sees Lucas Biglia, another man returning from injury, and Ever Banega in prime position to start, while Giovani Lo Celso and Manuel Lanzini add creative options further up the field. There is also no shortage of talent out wide: Angel Di Maria, Maxi Meza, Salvio and Acuna can all cover the flanks, as can Boca youngster Cristian Pavon. That leaves just four strikers in Sampaoli's squad, Lionel Messi accompanied in Russia by Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero. Who didn't make Argentina's squad? Of the 35 players initially called up by Sampaoli, 12 suffered the disappointment of missing out on a final squad place. Chief among those is Mauro Icardi, whose 29 Serie A goals this season did not suffice to win him a place in Russia. Racing Club pair Lautaro Martinez and Ricardo Centurion were also cut at the last minute, the latter reportedly taken out of consideration due to concerns over his attitude after a photo of the winger in a Buenos Aires nightclub surfaced just hours after losing a Copa Argentina match with his club. Nahuel Guzman, German Pezzella, Ramiro Funes Mori, Guido Pizarro, Enzo Perez, Diego Perotti, Leandro Paredes and Rodrigo Battaglia were the other names cut from the 35 on Monday. Zenit players Matias Kranevitter and Emiliano Rigoni, meanwhile, were overlooked even for the shortlist, as was promising Stuttgart destroyer Santiago Ascacibar. There was also no place for veteran Boca stars Fernando Gago or Carlos Tevez, the former having recently returned from injury while the latter has shown only glimpses of his best form since returning to Argentina from China.<doc-sep>Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi, joint top-scorer in Serie A, has been left out of Argentina's 23-man World Cup squad, while Juventus' Paulo Dybala has been included. Argentina boast a wealth of attacking talent with Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Juventus' Gonzalo Higuain and Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, alongside the 24-year-old Dybala. Including Aguero, Argentina head coach Jorge Sampaoli has selected six Premier League players in his squad - Nicolas Otamendi, Sergio Romero, Marcos Rojo, Manuel Lanzini and Willy Caballero. Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria is also involved, he also featured in Argentina's last World Cup campaign in 2014 when they finished runners-up to Germany in Brazil. Former Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano, who joined Chinese club Hebei China Fortune in January, has been named in the squad but among the midfielders - a position he played for Liverpool. Image: Lionel Messi and Paulo Dybala will be in Russia Argentina line up against Croatia, Iceland and Nigeria in Group D. Argentina World Cup Squad Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Manchester United), Willy Caballero (Chelsea), Franco Armani (River Plate). Defenders: Cristian Ansaldi (Torino), Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), Federico Fazio (Roma), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon). Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Hebei China Fortune), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Angel Di Maria (PSG), Manuel Lanzini (West Ham), Giovani Lo Celso (PSG), Ever Banega (Sevilla), Lucas Biglia (AC Milan), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors). Forwards: Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City).<doc-sep>After coming terribly close to their Promised Land in 2014, Argentina will be hoping to go one further in the 2018 FIFA World Cup this time around when they do it all over again in Russia in a week's time. A squad that has retained its core will be buoyed by the addition of a few promising youngsters to their side. With most of the players who played in the final in Rio, four years ago, drawing towards the end of their careers, this might be the last chance at glory for Lionel Messi and co. Their path to Russia was anything but comfortable, as Messi came up with his usual heroics in their final qualifying match to send them through, with the prospect of missing out on the competition altogether staring them in the face. Argentina's Group Fixtures and Venues Match 1: Argentina vs Iceland - 16 June, Friday, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST) at Spartak Stadium, Moscow Match 2: Argentina vs Croatia - 21 June, Wednesday, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST) at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod Match 3: Argentina vs Nigeria - 26 June, Monday, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST) at Saint Petersburg Stadium, Saint Petersburg Also read: Top 5 Group Games to Watch at the World Cup TV and Live Stream TV: Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 2 HD, Sony Ten 3, Sony Ten 3 HD Live Stream: Sony LIV Argentina Squad for the World Cup Plenty of fire-power up front for Argentina. GOALKEEPERS: Willy Caballero (Chelsea), Franco Armani (River Plate), Nahuel Guzman (Tigres). DEFENDERS: Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), Federico Fazio (Roma), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Nicolas Taglafico (Ajax), Javier Mascherano (Hebei Fortune), Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon), Cristian Ansaldi (Torino). MIDFIELDERS: Ever Banega (Sevilla), Lucas Biglia (AC Milan), Angel Di María, Giovani Lo Celso (both Paris St-Germain), Manuel Lanzini (West Ham), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica). FORWARDS: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala (both Juventus), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City). Also read: Spain XI that will not be playing in the 2018 World Cup Argentina Coach: Jorge Sampaoli Jorge Sampaoli Jorge Samapoli took over the job of head coach of the Argentina National Team in 2017 and has only had a year at the helm. Sampaoli stunned observers in March by leaving Paulo Dybala and Mauro Icardi - two of the best young forwards in Italy, perhaps even Europe, out of the squad for the final friendlies before the World Cup 23 was announced in May. Dybala hadn't played particularly well during the autumn international break and the feeling was that, in many ways, he is too similar to Messi, occupying the same areas and getting in the way of the world's best player. However, the manager decided to make place for the Juve man in the squad, but his compatriot with rivals Inter lost out despite having arguably his best season ever in which he scored 29 goals in 34 league appearances. It will be interesting to see how he copes with the pressure of leaving one of the hottest strikers in world football at the moment and find a system to use both Messi and Dybala together. Argentina Predicted XI Formation: 3-4-3 Line-up: Caballero; Rojo , Otamendi, Fazio; Mercado, Biligia, Lo Celso, Taglafico; di Maria, Aguero, Messi. Predicted Argentina line-up Argentina World Cup History Semifinals: 5 Finals: 5 Titles: 2 (1978, 1986) Argentina Prediction A quarter-final exit seems most likely for the Argentine national side as they will probabl come up against the likes of Colombia, Spain, Germany or England in each of the knock-out fixtures following the group stages. We feel that those teams have the measure of this current Argentina side and it would be an upset of sorts if they manage to beat any of those teams, let alone three on their way to the final this summer. They genuinely have a shot of beating Colombia or England in the round of sixteen, but it is getting increasingly difficult to see Argentina get past either the German or the Spanish side in the quarter-finals. This is, however, a cup competition, and the biggest one in the world at that. We've seen miracles on a grander scale take place in the World Cup and with the miracle of Messi already on their side they have plenty to be hopeful about.<doc-sep>First Name Last Name We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy. Would you like to receive The WeekDay email newsletter? We will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy. We will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. 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Last updated on .From the section World Cup Argentina are aiming for a third World Cup success in Russia Forwards Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain have all been included in Argentina's 23-man squad for the World Cup in Russia. But Serie A's joint top scorer, Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi, is left out. Aguero is joined by five other Premier League players including Manchester City team-mate Nicolas Otamendi. West Ham's Manuel Lanzini, Manchester United pair Sergio Romero and Marcos Rojo, and Chelsea's Willy Caballero are the other England-based players. Everton defender Ramiro Funes Mori, who made only four first-team appearances last season because of injury, has been left out, having been named in manager Jorge Sampaoli's provisional squad. Argentina begin their World Cup campaign against Iceland on 16 June before games against Croatia and Nigeria in Group D. They almost failed to qualify for the finals in Russia, before a hat-trick from Barcelona forward Messi in their final qualification game. Despite fielding a number of Europe's best attacking players, Sampaoli's side only scored 19 goals in 18 qualifying matches. Icardi has been left out despite scoring 29 goals in 34 games in Italy's top flight this season. Argentina squad Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Manchester United), Willy Caballero (Chelsea), Franco Armani (River Plate). Defenders: Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), Federico Fazio (Roma), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Nicolas Taglafico (Ajax), Javier Mascherano (Hebei Fortune), Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon), Cristian Ansaldi (Torino). Midfielders: Ever Banega (Sevilla), Lucas Biglia (AC Milan), Angel Di Maria, Giovani Lo Celso (both Paris St-Germain), Manuel Lanzini (West Ham), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica). Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala (both Juventus), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City).