Ezequiel Lavezzi left out from Argentina Squad
Newcastle defender Fabricio Coloccini and Napoli Striker Ezequiel Lavezzi have both failed to make Argentina's 23-man South Africa World Cup squad, but Colon defender Ariel Garce will be travelling to South Africa.
Diego Maradona cut seven players from his provisional squad with Coloccini and Lavezzi joining Juan Manuel Insaurralde, Jose Sosa, Jesus Datolo, Sebastian Blanco and Juan Mercier in suffering disappointment.
Full Argentina squad:
Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Mariano Andujar (Catania), Diego Pozo (Colon); Nicolas Burdisso (Roma), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan), Gabriel Heinze (Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield), Clemente Rodriguez (Estudiantes), Ariel Garca (Colon); Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes), Maximiliano Rodriguez (Liverpool), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Javier Pastore (Palermo); Sergio Aguero (Atlético Madrid), Diego Milito (Internazionale), Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona).
Ezequiel Lavezzi scored eight goals in 27 games for Maradona's former club Napoli this season, but Argentina are blessed with deep reserves of attacking talent with Lionel Messi, Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero all making the squad.
The inclusion of defender Garce is something of a surprise as the 30-year-old has won only one cap under Maradona, and that came in a recent 4-0 friendly win over Haiti. However, the coach displayed an unconventional streak in his selections throughout the qualifying campaign.
Argentina, winners of the World Cup in 1978 and 1986, will face Nigeria, Greece and South Korea in Group B.
source: http://soccernet.espn.go.com
