Buenos Aires: AS Roma midfielder Erik Lamela has earned a first call-up to Argentina's World Cup qualifying squad with Lionel Messi also picked but in doubt with a hamstring problem. Lamela, named in coach Alejandro Sabella's squad on Thursday, could step in for Messi if he does not recover in time from his injury to face Colombia at home on June 7 and Ecuador away four days later.
The 21-year-old has one cap from a 2011 friendly playing for an Argentina team picked solely from the domestic league when he was still at River Plate. He was also in the full squad for a friendly in Switzerland 15 months ago but did not play. Midfielder Lucas Biglia was recalled to the squad after helping Anderlecht win the Belgian league title, with Velez Sarsfield's Fernando Gago out through injury.
Wigan Athletic striker Franco Di Santo was dropped from the squad that beat Venezuela and drew away to Bolivia, when he was a substitute, in March. Argentina could secure their berth at the 2014 finals in Brazil in these two clashes with the teams directly below them in the South American group. They lead the nine-nation group with 24 points from 12 matches. Ecuador are second with 20 points and Colombia third on 19, both with a game in hand.
The top four at the end of the group phase in October automatically qualify for the finals with the fifth-placed team qualifying for a playoff against an Asian side
08:51 AM, May 24, 2013
Buenos Aires: Jorge Rafael Videla, an austere former army commander who led Argentina during the bloodiest period of a "dirty war" dictatorship and was unrepentant about kidnappings and murders ordered by the state, died on Friday at age 87. Videla was the first president to head the military junta that "disappeared" thousands of suspected leftists from 1976 to 1983, and he spent his final years behind bars for human rights...
11:57 AM, May 18, 2013
Buenos Aires: Jorge Rafael Videla, an austere former army commander who led Argentina during the bloodiest period of a "dirty war" dictatorship and was unrepentant about kidnappings and murders ordered by the state, died on Friday at age 87. Videla was the first president to head the military junta that "disappeared" thousands of suspected leftists from 1976 to 1983, and he spent his final years behind bars for human rights...
06:51 AM, May 18, 2013
London: Lionel Messi's life story is set to hit the movie screens in time for the 2014 World Cup. Epic Pictures Group says it is financing and developing a Rocky-style film after buying the rights to dramatize a biography about the Barcelona soccer star. The Beverly Hills-based company says the biopic will chart Messi's rise from a modest background in Argentina and how he "overcame his physical shortcomings to become...
06:48 PM, May 10, 2013
Belo Horizonte: Brazilian authorities say at least four players from Argentine club Arsenal have been detained for interrogation after a confrontation with police at a Copa Libertadores match. Police say at least two officers and a journalist sustained minor injuries in the brawl after Atletico Mineiro's 5-2 win over the Argentine club on Wednesday. Authorities say the players will likely be charged after throwing punches and kicking the officers who...
12:50 PM, Apr 04, 2013
Lionel Messi didn't score but he still helped Argentina earn a valuable point to stay on top in the World Cup qualifying group. ...
08:31 AM, Mar 27, 2013
The best-of-five series will be played April 5-7 in Buenos Aires. ...
07:38 AM, Mar 27, 2013
Messi said that his experience of playing at almost 4000m above sea level at La Paz was terrible. ...
12:58 PM, Mar 26, 2013
Argentina have solidified their lead atop the South America World Cup qualifying group with 23 points in 10 matches. ...
08:49 AM, Mar 23, 2013
Messi says fans of Agentina team are more enthusiastic than ever before, snapping up all the tickets to the team's Friday match against Venezuela. ...
02:50 PM, Mar 22, 2013
Newly elected Pope Francis made an appearance for the first Angelus in St Peter's Square. The first Pope from Latin America appeared before scores of people and asked the faithful to pray for him. ...
08:32 PM, Mar 17, 2013
The Vatican has come out in strong defence of Pope Francis after activists condemned the pope for not speaking out against human rights violations during military rule in Argentina. ...
08:51 AM, Mar 16, 2013
The honeymoon that Pope Francis has enjoyed since his remarkable election hit a bump on Friday, with the Vatican lashing out at what it called a defamatory and "anti-clerical left-wing" media campaign questioning his actions during Argentina's murderous military dictatorship. ...
06:58 AM, Mar 16, 2013
Tears and cheers erupted across Latin America on Wednesday as an Argentine cardinal became the first pope from the hemisphere, and many expressed hope that he could help bring the church closer to the poverty-wracked region that is home to more Roman Catholics than any other. ...
09:38 AM, Mar 14, 2013
Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, delivered his first blessing to a huge crowd in St Peter's Square on Wednesday night, asking for the prayers of "all men and women of good will" to help him lead the Catholic Church. ...
08:51 AM, Mar 14, 2013
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon joined the world leaders to congratulate Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, who has been chosen as the new Pope to head the Catholic Church. Bergoglio, who will be known as Pope Francis, was chosen on Wednesday as the first ever Pope from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. ...
07:31 AM, Mar 14, 2013
An overwhelming 99.8 per cent of Falkland Islands voters have backed keeping their government just the way it is: a British Overseas Territory. Of the 1,517 valid votes cast, only 3 islanders voted "no" to the question: "Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?" One vote was somehow lost, officials said on Tuesday. ...
05:49 PM, Mar 12, 2013
The 29-year-old Manchester City player, who was banned from driving in January, was stopped by police driving in Macclesfield. ...
06:41 PM, Mar 08, 2013
Nadal beat Schwartzman of Argentina 6-2, 6-2. He is seeded No. 2 in the clay court tournament behind fellow Spaniard David Ferrer. ...
10:27 AM, Feb 27, 2013
Juan Martin del Potro is not playing the Davis Cup at all this year having decided he wants to concentrate fully on trying to break into the world's top four. ...
11:53 PM, Jan 31, 2013
