Rio de Janeiro, May 12 (IANS) Striker Carlos Tevez has been included in Argentina’s preliminary 30-man squad for the Copa America, the country’s football association has said.
His inclusion for the June 11-July 4 tournament in Chile is reward for his prolific form with Italian champions Juventus, for whom he has scored 29 goals from 44 matches this season, reports Xinhua.
The 31-year-old returned to the squad in October last year after a three-year international exile.
As expected, Argentina coach Gerardo Martino also named strikers Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, defender Javier Mascherano and winger Angel Di Maria in his squad on Monday.
Martino will cut seven players from the list before the tournament begins.
Argentina, 14-time Copa America winners, have been drawn in the same group as Paraguay, Uruguay and Jamaica.
Argentina preliminary squad:
Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero, Nahuel Guzman, Mariano Andujar, Agustin Marchesin.
Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta, Ezequiel Garay, Martin Demichelis, Marcos Rojo, Nicolas Otamendi, Facundo Roncaglia, Federico Fernandez, Lucas Orban, Milton Casco.
Midfielders: Lucas Biglia, Javier Mascherano, Javier Pastore, Ever Banega, Fernando Gago, Roberto Pereyra, Federico Mancuello, Enzo Perez.
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Angel Di Maria, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Nicolas Gaitan, Erik Lamela, Maxi Rodriguez.