Sunday, April 22, 2018

France Projected 2018 World Cup Team


Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

My projected World Cup teams for SpainBrazilGermanyArgentinaEngland and France.

This is my projection of France's 23 member squad at the 2018 World Cup Finals in Russia. At the time of writing(April, 2018), I came up with players with the most often used in recent games.

Final squad different vs my prediction on this blog
Out: Alexandre Lacazette, Anthony Martial, Laurent Koscielny, Lucas Digne, Adrien Rabiot, Kingsley Coman.
In: Benjamin Mendy(I thought he was injured), Benjamin Pavard, Presnel Kimpembe, Nabil Fekir, Adil Rami.

Team
GK: Hugo Lloris (France)
Llories started his career with Nice.  He moved to Lyon in 2008 to replace Coupet. In 2012, he moved to Tottenham Hotspurs.  Tay the time of writing, he has over 80 caps for France.  He is a key player since the World Cup Finals in 2010, participating in every major tournaments.  He was the starting keeper for France at the Euro 2016 and the World Cup Finals in 2018.
Hugo Lloris 
GK: Steve Mandanda 
Mandanda made his league début for Le Havre in August 2005. He joined Marseille in 2008.  He had played over 300 games for them since 2008. He spent a season with Crytal Palace.  For the natinal team, he was mainly a backup keeper.  At the time of writing, he has 26 caps.  He served as the third keeper at the WC Finals in 2010 and 2014. He has three brothers who are also professional goalkeepers.

GK: Alphonse Areola (PSG)
An academy graduate of PSG, he spent the early parts of his career on loan, enjoying spells with Lens, Bastia and La Liga side, Villarreal. During his stint with the latter, Areola broke the club record for the longest period of play without conceding a goal, remaining unbeaten for a period of 620. Since 2016, he has returned to PSG.

RB: Djibril Sidibé (AS Monaco)
Djibril Sidibé started his career with Troyes. After helping earn Troyes promotion to Ligue 1, the 19-year-old signed for Lille in July 2012. In 2016, he joined AS Monaco, where his club reached the semifinal of the Champions' League.  On 25 August 2016, Sidibé was called up to the senior squad for the first time.  he made his debut in September of that year.

CB: Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid)
Varane started with Lens. After one season with the French club, as a professional footballer, Varane joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2011. With Real Madrid, he won 3 Champions League in 4 years.  In 2012, he made his international debut.  He went to the World Cup Finals in 2014, where he was nominated as the Young Player of the Tournament.  He missed the 2016 European Championship through an injury.
Raphaël Varane
CB: Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona)
Umtiti began his professional career with Lyon in 2012, winning the Coupe de France and Trophée des Champions that year. He transferred to Barcelona in 2016. Umtiti, who was uncapped at senior level, was selected by France national team manager Didier Deschamps to be part of his Euro 2016 squad following an injury to fellow centre-back Jérémy Mathieu.


RB/CB: Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal)
Koscielny began with Guingamp in 2003.  He later played for Tours and Lorient before joining Arsenal in 2010. He moved to Arsenal in 2010.  Less than a season later, he was called up to the French national team.  He had also considered playing for Poland.  The French centerback had played on the rightback for Arsenal. At the time of writing, he had over 50 caps.

CB/LB: Lucas Hernández (Atletico Madrid)
Lucas' father, Jean-François, was also a footballer, who played for Atletico Madrid, where Lucas started in the academy. In 2014, he made his professional debut.  He received his international in 2018.  His brother Theo played for Real Madrid.

LB: Layvin Kurzawa (PSG)
Kurzawa began his career at Monaco in 2010, and played 96 official games for the team, scoring eight goals. In 2015, he transferred to Paris Saint-Germain for €23 million, winning a treble in his first season. Kurzawa made his senior international debut for France in 2014.
Layvin Kurzawa 
LB: Lucas Digne (Barcelona)
Digne began his career at Lille before joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2013. He did not settle at the club. After spending a season on loan at Roma, he moved to Barcelona in July 2016.  Digne represented France at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, wearing the number 17 shirt. 

DM/CM: Blaise Matuidi (Juventus)
Matuidi began his career with Troyes before joining AS Saint-Étienne. From 2011 to 2017, he played for Paris St Germain. In 2017, he joined Juventus. At the time of writing, he has represented France at the European Championship of 2012 and 2016 as well as the World Cup Finals in 2014.  He has 64 caps.

DM: N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea)
Kante made his senior debut at Boulogne and then spent two seasons at Caen. In 2015, he joined Leicester City winning the Premier League in his only season there. The following year, he joined Chelsea, winning the league again in his first season. He also won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year and became the first outfield player to win back-to-back English league titles with different clubs since Eric Cantona in 1992 and 1993.
N'Golo Kanté 
CM: Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich)
A graduate of the Lyon academy, he made his professional debut for the club in 2013 and played 160 matches and scored 29 goals. He joined Bayern Munich for €41.5 million in the summer of 2017, a record for a transfer to a German club.  Since 2017, he has been capped by France.

CM: Adrien Rabiot (PSG)
Rabbit pent most of his career with Paris Saint-Germain, making his debut with the first team in 2012 and winning 15 major honours, including four consecutive Ligue 1 titles and a treble in 2015–16.  In 2016, he picked up his first senior cap after the European Championship of 2016.

CM: Paul Pogba
Pogba began his senior career with Manchester United, but after only 3 appearance in a season and half, he moved to Juventus.  In Turin, he became a megastar.  He won the Golden Boy Award for the best player under-21 playing in Europe.  He also led Juventus to the Final of the 2015 Champions' League Final.  In the summer of 2016, Manchester United broke the all-time transfer fees to sign Pogba.  At the time of writing, he was capped 43 times.  He led France to reach the Final of Euro 2016 and to win the World Cupo in 2018.
Paul Pogba
RW: Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona)
Dembélé began his career at Rennes before joining Dortmund in 2016. A year later, he transferred to Barcelona for an initial fee of €105 million, becoming the joint-third most expensive footballer ever alongside Paul Pogba. In 2016, he made his national team debut after the European Championship.

LW: Thomas Lemar (AS Monaco)
Lemar began his senior career at Caen in 2013. He played 32 times for the club before moving to Monaco for £3.4 million in 2015. He made UEFA Champions League Breakthrough XI in 2016.  In 2016, he also made his national team debut after the European Championship.  

LW/FW: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich)
Coman was a youth product with Paris St Germain.  He made his senior debut there before moving to Juventus in 2014.  In 2017, he joined Bayern Munich.  In 2015, he earned his first senior cap and was a part of Didier Deschamps' team at the European Championship in 2016.  He was considered one of the top young players there.

FW: Kylian Mbappé (PSG)
Mbappe was a well-known youth player in France before making his senior debut with AS Monaco in 2015.  He quickly established himself as one of the best young players in the world.  In the summer of 2017, Monaco sent him to Paris St Germain on loan for a buyout option of around €180 million at the end of the loan. In 2017, he made his national team debut, becoming the second youngest ever French international.
Kylian Mbappé
FW: Anthony Martial (Manchester United)
Martial came from the youth academy at Lyon. He played for both Lyon and Monaco before joining Manchester United in 2015. His performance with the Red Devils earned great review.  He won the Golden Bay award in 2015. He was a member of Deschamps' team at the 2016 European Championship in France.

ST: Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal)
From 2010 to 2017, Lacazette played for Lyon in France.  He was the Ligue 1 Top Goalscorer for the 2014–15 season. In 2017, he joined Arsenal for €53 million (£46.5 million). The fee was the largest ever received by Lyon from the sale of a player. The transfer fee also surpassed the previous Arsenal record €50 million (£42.5 million) that Arsenal paid Real Madrid for Mesut Özil in 2013.

ST: Olivier Giroud (Chelsea)
Giroud began his career at Grenoble in Ligue 2 before joining Tours in 2008. Gird joined Arsenal in 2012.  He won the FA Cup with Arsenal in 2014, 2015 and 2017, and totalled 105 goals in 253 games for the club. In January 2018, he transferred to Chelsea on an 18-month contract.  Since 2011, he has played over 70 times for France.

ST/FW: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
The Frenchman joined Real Sociedad's youth academy and made , his senior debut in 2009.  He moved to Atletico Madrid in 2014 helping the club to reach the Champions' league final in 2016.  At the time of writing, he was capped 49 times for France.  He made his mark at the World Cup in 2014.  Two years later, he led the team to reach the Final of Euro 2016.  He won the Golden Boot that year.
Antoine Griezmann
Players considered
 Benjamin Pavard, Presnel Kimpembe, Karim Benzema

Squad Explanation  
-- Benjamin Mendy has been out injured.
-- Benzema has been out of consideration since 2015.
-- I am uncertain about Anthony Martial and Ousmane Dembélé.  Both players have been in and out of Deschamps' plan.  I took them based on their name recognition.   

Formation




Friday, April 20, 2018

England Projected 2018 World Cup Team


Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

My projected World Cup teams for SpainBrazilGermanyArgentinaEngland and France.

This is my projection of England's 23 member squad at the 2018 World Cup Finals in Russia. At the time of writing(April, 2018), I came up with players with the most often used in recent games.

Final squad different vs my prediction on this blog
Out: Joe Hart, James Tarkowski, Joe Gomez, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Injured)
In: Nick Pope, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabian Delph, Phil Jones.

Team
GK: Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Pickford has previously played for Sunderland's academy, reserve, and senior teams in addition to loan spells at Darlington, Alfreton Town, Burton Albion, Carlisle United, Bradford City and Preston North End. He signed for Everton for a fee of £25 million in June 2017. Pickford received his first call-up from the full England national team for the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Slovenia in October 2016, making his debut in November 2017 in a friendly against Germany.
Jordan Pickford 
GK: Joe Hart (West Ham)
Hart began his career at Shrewsbury Town. In 2006, he moved to top-flight Manchester City. He spent his early career on loan elsewhere. Hart was was voted as the Premier League goalkeeper of the 2009–10 season while at Birmingham. He returned to Manchester City for the 2010–11 season.  He won the Golen Glove 4 time in 5 seasons. Hart has gained over 70 caps and was selected in England's squads for two World Cups and as many UEFA European Championships.

GK: Jack Butland (Stoke City)
Butland began his career with Birmingham City, but mainly sent out for loans. He transferred to Premier League club Stoke City in January 2013 for a fee of £3.3 million, but spent his career on loan elsewhere until 2015 where he became first choice. Butland was the first choice for Great Britain squad at the 2012 London Olympics. In 2012, he received his senior cap at the age of 19, the youngest ever England's keeper.

RB: Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspurs)
Walker started with Sheffield United F.C. In 2009, he joined Tottenham Hotspurs. He spent some time on loan before returning to Tottenham Hotspurs.  He established himself as one of England's best fullback. In 2017, he joined Manchester City. Since 2011, he has played for England. He represented England at the European Championship in 2016.
Kyle Walker 
RB: Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspurs)
Trippier was a youth product at Manchester City, but only spent his time on loan before joining Burnley. He spent three seasons with Burnley before joining Tottenham Hotspurs in 2015.  In 2018, he received his fist callup for England after replacing the injured Walker at the club level.

CB: Harry Maguire (Leicester City)
Born in Sheffield, Maguire came through the youth system at Sheffield United before graduating to the first team. He spent three seasons with Sheffield United before joining Hull City in 2014.  He also spent time on loan with Wigan. In 2017, he joined Leicester City.  He made his England's debut in 2017 under manager Gareth Southgate.

CB:  James Tarkowski (Burnley)
Tarkowski started his career with League One club Oldham Athletic in 2011.  In 2014, he moved to play for Brentford.  In 2015, he joined Burnley.  A year later, his club grained promotion, where he began his career was in the Premiership.  Tarkowski is eligible for England and Poland at international level. He made his international debut in 2018.

CB: John Stones (Manchester City)
Stones began his career with Barnsley, making his first-team debut in the Championship in 2012 as a 17-year-old. He joined Premier Everton  in January 2013.  He spent over four seasons at the Merseyside club.  In 2016, he signed for Manchester City.  With England, he made his debut in 2014.  He was a non-playing member at Euro 2016.
John Stones
CB: Joe Gomez (Liverpool)
Gomez began his career at Charlton Athletic, breaking into the first team at 17 and playing one full senior season before joining Liverpool in June 2015.  He was part of the squad that won the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Malta.  In 2017, he made his senior debut. He is considered to be England's future starting centerback.

LB: Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspurs)
Rose started his professional career at Leeds United in 2006.  After a single season, he joined Tottenham Hotspurs. After spending many years on loan, he returned to the London club in 2013. Internationally, he represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics.  He made his England debut in 2014. He went to France for the European Championship ion 2016.

LB: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton)
Bertrand began his career with Chelsea and was under contract for them from 2006 to 2015, but he spent most of his career on loan.  In 2015, he joined Southampton, where his career finally took off. In 2012, he received his first cap for England. He went to the European Championship in 2016.

CM: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspurs)
Alli made his professional debut with his hometown Milton Keynes Dons in 2011.  He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in February 2015. In his first full campaign at White Hart Lane, Alli was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year, and won again the second year. He made his national team debut in 2015.  He was a part of the Euro 2016 team.
Dele Alli 
CM: Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Crystal Palace)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek began his career with Chelsea in 2014.  For his first three seasons, he was mainly a backup player.  In 2017, he was sent on a loan to Crystal Palace. In 2017, he made his national team debut.  He is considered to be the future of English football.

DM: Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspurs)
Dier grew up in Portugal with British parents and was signed by Sporting CP at an early age. He spent two seasons on the first there. In 2014, he joined Tottenham Hotspurs in England. Dier was one of models for England's Umbro kit in 2011 as a 16 years old before he was considered by England at any level. In 2015, he received his first senior cap.  He was a part of the team at Euro 2016 in France. 

CM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool)
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the son of former England international Mark Chamberlain.  He made his name with Southampton.  He signed for Arsenal in 2011 after a single season at the senior level.  In 2017, he left Arsenal for Liverpool.  At the time of writing, he has 32 caps.  He participated at the European Championship in 2012.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 
CM: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
Henderson began his career at Sunderland in 2008, with a loan spell at Coventry City in 2009, before moving to Liverpool in 2011. He became captain of Liverpool in 2015 following the departure of Steven Gerrard. In 2010, Henderson won his first cap for England.  He has represented the country at UEFA Euro 2012 and 2016, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

LB/LW: Ashley Young (Manchester United)
Young started his career at Watford.  In January 2007, he transferred to Aston Villa.  He established himself in the first team at Villa Park and won the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2009. In 2011, Young signed for Manchester United for an undisclosed fee. He has gone on to win every trophy available in English football. 

AM/FW/LW: Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)
Lingard came from Manchester United academy. He made his senior debut while on loan at Leicester City in 2012.  He spent time on loan at Birmingham City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Derby County.  He is a key player for Manchester United.  He made his England debut in 2016.
Jesse Lingard
FW: Jamie Vardy (Leicester Town)
From 2007 to 2012, Vardy played in the lower leagues of English football.  In 2012, he joined Leicester City, which was then in the Championship. In 2015-2016, his career took off.  He was voted the Premier League Player of the Season and FWA Footballer of the Year as outsiders Leicester won the title. He earned his first cap in 2015 before his breakout season.  He became a key player soon after.

AM/FW: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
He broke into the Liverpool lineup as a 17 years old in 2012, where he became their star players until 2015.  In the spring of 2015, he had a contract disputes with the club.  He moved to Manchester City for 44 million pounds.  He made his national team debut in 2012.  He played at Brazil 2014.  At the time of writing, he is widely considered to be England's greatest hope for the future. Liked John Barnes, he was born in Jamaica.
Raheem Sterling
ST: Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)
Welbeck made his senior debut with Manchester United. After loan spells with Preston Northland and Sunderland, he returned to Old Trafford for the 2011-2012 season. After three seasons, he joined Arsenal. At the time of writing, he has 37 caps.  He represented England at the 2014 World Cup Finals in Brazil.

ST: Macus Rashford (Manchester United)
In 2015, Rashford made his professional debut with Manchester United.  He received his first callus from England soon after. He scored on his England debut in May 2016, becoming the youngest English player to score in his first senior international match. He was chosen for UEFA Euro 2016.
=
ST: Harry Kane (England)
At the time of writing, Kane has played his entire career with Tottenham Hotspurs, except a few seasons on loan.  Kane made his first-team debut for Tottenham on 25 August 2011.  He finished top scorer of both the 2015–16 and the 2016–17 Premier League seasons, and aided Tottenham in qualifying for the UEFA Champions League on both occasions.  For England, he has earned over 23 caps.
Harry Kane
Players considered
Adam Lallana, Jack Wilshere, Michael Keane, Luke Shaw, Aaron Cresswell, James Tarkowski, Jake Livermore, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabian Delph, Harry Winks, Nathaniel Clyne, Tom Heaton, Chris Smalling.

Squad Explanation
-- Gareth Southgate seemed to like Jordan Henderson and Kieran Trippier
-- Ruben Loftus-Cheek played a wonderful friendly against Germany.
-- Ashley Young was on the bubble, but Southgate probably takes him. I have this feeling that I might be wrong.
-- Gary Chaill probably will not hold onto his spot because of poor performance this season. I took James Tarkowski over him.
-- I took Joe Gomez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek as young players.

Formation



Sunday, April 15, 2018

Argentina Projected 2018 World Cup Team

Argentina 2018
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

My projected World Cup teams for SpainBrazilGermanyArgentinaEngland and France.


Final squad different vs my prediction on this blog
Out: Nahuel Guzmán, Fabricio Bustos, Ramiro Funes Mori, Ángel Correa. 

In: Franco Armani, Cristian Ansaldi, Maximiliano Meza, Cristian Pavón.

This is my projection of Argentina's 23 member squad at the 2018 World Cup Finals in Russia. At the time of writing(April, 2018), I came up with players with the most often used in recent games.
Team
GK: Sergio Romero
Romero started his career with racing Club before moving to Europe where he played for AZ, Sampdoria and Monaco.  At the time of writing, he is a backup keeper with Manchester United. At the time of writing, he warned over 90 caps.  he was Argentina's starting keeper at both WC Finals in 2010 and 2014.
Sergio Romero
GK: Nahuel Guzmán (UANL)
Guzman made his professional debut for Newell's Old Boys in August 2006 against C.A. Belgrano. On 2008, he went on loan to Independiente Rivadavia until 2009. He became a key to the championship of Newell's in the 2013 Final Tournament.  In 2014,  he was transferred to Liga MX club Tigres UANL.  Since 2014, he has been capped by Argentina.

GK: Willy Caballero (Chelsea)
Caballero spent most of his career in Spain, representing Elche and Málaga and competing in La Liga with the latter club. In the summer of 2014 he signed for Manchester City, helping them win the 2016 League Cup.  In 2017, he joined Chelsea.  He has been a member of Argentine national team as long as 2005, but he only made his first appearance in 2018.

RB/CB: Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla)
He began his career with Racing Club and Estudiantes before joining River Plate in 2012, going on to win six domestic and international tournaments including the 2015 Copa Libertadores. In 2016, he joined Sevilla for €2.5 million. In 2010, he received his first cap for Argentina.
Gabriel Mercado
RB/RW: Fabricio Bustos (Independiente)
Fabricio Bustos is a youth product of Independiente.  Since 2016, he has appeared for their senior squad,winning the Copa Sudamericana in 2017.  In 2017, he received his first callup by the national team, making his debut in a friendly against Italy in March, 2018.

CB: Nicolás Otamendi (Manchester City)
Otamendi played mainly for Vélez Sarsfield and Porto in his early career, winning eight major titles with the latter including three national championships and the 2011 Europa League. In 2015, he signed for Manchester City from Valencia.  He was a member of Diego Maradona's World Cup squad in 2010, but missed out in 2014.
Nicolás Otamendi 
CB: Ramiro Funes Mori (Everton)
Ramiro Funes Mori spent his childhood in the United States. He made his professional debut with River Plate in 2010.  In 2015, he joined Everton in the English Preimers League.  Since 2015, he made his debut with the national team. He was a part of the  Copa América Centenario in 2016.

CB: Federico Fazio (AS Roma)
He began his career at Ferro Carril Oeste, signing for Sevilla in 2007. He made 201 official appearances for the latter club in nine years and scored 15 goals, joining Tottenham Hotspur in August 2014. He failed to settle in England. He joined AS Roma after loan spells with Sevilla and Roma.  In 2011, he received his first cap.

LB: Marcos Rojo (Manchester United)
Rojo began his career at local club Estudiantes de La Plata, where he won the Copa Libertadores in 2009 and played in the Club World Cup Final later that year. After a short spell with Spartak Moscow he joined Sporting CP in 2012, and transferred to Manchester United two years later.  Since 2011, he is a regular member of the national team. 
Marcos Rojo 
LB: Nicolás Tagliafico (Ajax)
Tagliafico made his professional debut for Banfield  in the 2011 Clausura. In 2012, Tagliafico signed a one-year loan deal with Spanish club Real Murcia. In 2015, he made the move to Independiente.  In 2018, he moved to play for Ajax. He made his national team debut in 2017.

DM: Leandro Paredes (Zenit Saint Petersburg)
Leandro Paredes began his career with Boca Juniors in 2010.  He then played for Chievo Verona, AS Roma and Empoli in Italy  Since 2017, he plays for Zenit Saint Petersburg. At the time of writing, he has a single cap for a match against Singapore.

DM/CM: Lucas Biglia (AC Milan)
Biglia  played with Argentinos Juniors and Independiente at home.  Then, he spent seven seasons with Anderlecht. In 2013, he moved to Lazio. In 2017, he joined AC Milan. Since 2011, he is a regular starter for Argentina.  He played at the 2014 WC Final in Brazil. He had over 50 caps.

DM: Javier Mascherano (Hebei China Fortune)
Nicknamed "El Jefecito" ("The Little Chief"), he played for River Plate.  In 2005, he joined Corinthians along with Argentine compatriot, Carlos Tevez.  A year later, he moved to West Ham again with Tevez.  He later played for Liverpool and Barcelona.  He has made over 140 appearances for the Argentina national team, making him the second-most capped player in the country's history. He has represented the nation at five Copa América tournaments, and three World Cups,
Javier Mascherano

DM/CM: Éver Banega (Sevilla)
Banega started his career with Boca Juniors, and signed with Valencia in 2008 where he remained for several years, appearing in 162 official games and winning the 2008 Copa del Rey. After joining Sevilla in 2014, he conquered consecutive Europa League trophies. He got his first cap in 2008, but was not selected for both 2010 and 2014 World Cup Finals.

CM: Giovani Lo Celso (PSG)
Lo Celso was a youth product of Rosario Central. He made his professional debut in 2015. In 2016, he joined Paris St Germain in France.  In 2017, he made his debut for the national team. He also went to the Olympics in 2016 for the Under-23 team.

RW/FW:  Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child. At age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona. At time of writing, he won 4 World Player of the Year and 5 Ballon d'Or.  For Argentina, he has played over 130 times.  At the time of writing, he has not won an international trophy for the national team, but reached three Finals in his career.
Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero
AM: Manuel Lanzini (West Ham)
From 2011 to 2014, he played for River Plate.  He currently holds the record of being the player that scored the earliest goal in the history of Argentina's derby, the Superclásico. He also played for Fluminense and Al Jazira in UAE before joining West Ham in 2015.  He received his first callus in 2017.

LW/LB: Marcos Acuña (Sporting CP)
From 2010 to 2014, he played for Ferro Carril Oeste.  Then, he joined Racing Club in 2014 and stayed there in 2017.  He was part of Racing's championship team that won the 2014 Argentine Primera División, cutting a streak of 13 years without titles. He joined Sporting CP in 2017.  He made the national team debut in 2017.

RW/FW: Ángel Di María (PSG)
After beginning his career with Rosario Central, Di María moved to Europe in 2007 to play for Benfica, earning a €25 million move to Real Madrid three years later. He played a major role in the club's 2011–12 La Liga triumph. After winning the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, he signed for Manchester United in 2014 for a British record £59.7 million, but joined PSG a year later for around £44 million. At the time of writing, he earned over 90 caps. He went to both 2010 and 2014 World Cup Finals.
Ángel Di María 
FW/AM: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
El Kun became the youngest player ever to play in the Argentine Primera Division in 2003 when he played for Independiente.  In 2006, Atletico Madrid broke their transfer record to sign him.  He rewarded the club with the Europa Cup in 2010.  In 2011, he joined Manchester City. Again, he rewarded the club with an added time goal that won the Preimership for Manchester City's first ever title. At the time of writing, he had over 80 caps.  

FW/AM: Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
After beginning his career in Argentina with Instituto de Córdoba in 2011, he moved to Italian club Palermo in 2012; his performances in Serie A later earned him a transfer to Juventus in 2015, where he won the league title, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana during his first season with the club. Since 2015, he has played for Argentina and is considered one of their future stars.
Paulo Dybala 
FW: Ángel Correa (Atletico Madrid)
Ángel Correa started with San Lorenzo in 2013.  Then, in 2014, he joined Atletico Madrid in Spain's la Liga.  In 2014, Correa was sidelined for six months due to a heart tumour.  Since 2015, he has played for Argentina.  He is considered a future star.

ST: Gonzalo Higuain  (Juventus)
Higuain first starred for River Plate in Argentina.  He joined Real Madrid in 2006.  He would stay with the club until 2013.  Higuain later played with Napoli and Juventus.  In the 2015–16 season, he scored 36 league goals, winning the Capocannoniere title and equalling Gino Rossetti's 87-year-old record for goals in an Italian top-flight season. For the national team, he earned 52 caps.  He was brought into the national team after Argentina struggled to qualify for South Africa 2010.
Gonzalo Higuain  
Players considered
Lautaro Martínez, Darío Benedetto, Javier Pastore, Fernando Gago, Emanuel Mammana, Eduardo Salvio, Diego Perotti, Lautaro Martinez, Cristian Pavón.

Squad Explanation
-- I do not know much about this squad.  Most of the defensive players are unknown to me.
-- Many journalists are reporting that Mauro Icardi will not be going to Russia due to a feud with Lionel Messi.  His issue with Maxi Lopez might also be the reason.
-- Higuain has not been a part of Jorge Sampaoli's plan until the two recent friendly matches.  He would probably make the squad due  to Icardi's absence.
-- Paulo Dybala also has some issues with Lionel Messi and was left off in recent friendlies, but he probably would make the squad.
-- Fernando Gago has been injured.