Argentina coach named 23-man squad
Published:Thursday | May 20, 2010 | 10:33 AM
Argentina coach Diego Maradona named his final 23-man squad for the World Cup, 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 face Canada on Monday at River Plate\'s stadium in Buenos Aires, in what is expected to be their last warm-up before the World Cup.
The 1978 and 1986 champion opens on June 12 in South Africa against Nigeria and also faces Greece and South Korea in Group B.
Maradona, who presented a provisional 30-man squad last week, selected a group that includes three goalkeepers, seven defenders, seven at midfield and six forwards.
He is likely to start Messi with Tevez or Higuain up front with a midfield anchored by Javier Mascherano, Juan Sebastian Veron, Jonas Gutierrez and Angel Di Maria.
The four starters on defense are expected to be Nicolas Otamendi, Martin Demichelis, Walter Samuel and Gabriel Heinze.