Fabricio Coloccini has been named in Argentina's squad to take on Sweden in an international friendly next month, despite ongoing question marks over his future at club level.
Coloccini is reportedly nearing an end to his time in the Premier League with Newcastle United, with a move to his homeland and San Lorenzo close to becoming a reality. The defender is one of four England-based players to be selected by coach Alejandro Sabella, along with Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Wigan forward Franco Di Santo.
Santos playmaker Walter Montillo is another surprise inclusion in the 23-man squad, as he is the only player plying
his trade in South America in a squad which is otherwise European-based.
The match will serve as a warm-up ahead of the resumption of the World Cup
qualifiers, in which Argentina lead the South American standings by three points
from Ecuador.
Argentina squad to face Sweden on February 6: Sergio Romero (Sampdoria),
Mariano Andujar (Catania), Cristian Alvarez (Espanyol); Federico Fernandez, Hugo
Campagnaro (both Napoli), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Fabricio Coloccini
(Newcastle), Ezequiel Garay (Benfica), Cristian Ansaldi (Rubin Kazan); Javier
Mascherano (Barcelona), Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid), Fernando Gago, Ever Banega
(both Valencia), Augusto Fernandez (Celta), Enzo Perez (Benfica), Fabian Rinaudo
(Sporting Lisbon), Walter Montillo (Santos); Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo
Higuain (Real Madrid), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris Saint Germain), Sergio Aguero
(Manchester City), Franco Di Santo (Wigan), Osvaldo Nicolas Gaitan (Benfica).
Information from the Press Association was used in this report.
