Lionel Messi Excluded from Argentina’s Olympic Squad; Coach Mascherano Selects Four World Cup Champions

Lionel Messi will not be part of Argentina’s team for the upcoming Olympics in Paris, which start later this month.

On Tuesday, Coach Javier Mascherano revealed his squad, which includes four World Cup winners: striker Julián Álvarez and defender Nicolás Otamendi among them.

Messi, who is 37 years old and has faced injuries this year, is currently playing in the Copa America. He is aiming to defend the continental title he won in 2021, which helped Argentina win the World Cup in 2022.

Messi’s only Olympic appearance was in 2008 in Beijing, where he won a gold medal.

The Olympic men’s soccer tournament is primarily for players under 23, but each team can include three older players.

Mascherano, who won Olympic gold medals as a player in 2004 and 2008, plans to add goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli, Otamendi, and Álvarez to his squad after the Copa America concludes.

Midfielder Claudio Echeverri, who recently joined Manchester City from River Plate, will also be part of the team.

Before their first Olympic match against Morocco on July 24, Argentina will play two friendly matches in France. Argentina and Morocco are in Group B, along with Iraq and Ukraine.

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This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.