It's the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Before the men's soccer final on August 29th, the big teams will have a friendly on August 20th. Argentina (v. Bielorrusia), (Japan v.) Uruguay, France (v. Sweden) Portugal (v. Faroe Islands) will all play that day.
The surprise: Mariano González from FC Porto. He hasn't been called up to the Argentina national team since 2004. He's an 2004 Athens Olympic champion.
2 FC Porto players: Lucho González, wasn't called up since March, and Lisandro López
Of course for fowards, no Messi or Sergio 'El Kun' Aguero because they're in 2008 Beijing Olympic squad. Surprised there was no Hernan Crespo.
Here's the 18 man call-up list for Argentina by manager Alfio Basile
- Goalkeepers:
Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe)
Juan Pablo Carrizo (Lazio).
- Defenders:
Javier Zanetti (Inter)
Nicolas Burdisso (Inter)
Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle)
Gonzalo Rodríguez (Villarreal)
Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid).
- Midfielders:
Maxi Rodríguez (Atlético Madrid),
Esteban Cambiasso (Inter),
Mariano González (FC Porto),
Pablo Ledesma (Catania),
Lucho González (FC Porto),
Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munique)
Jonás Gutiérrez (Newcastle).
- Forwards:
Germán Denis (Napoli),
Lisandro López (FC Porto),
Carlos Tévez (Manchester United)
Fernando Cavenaghi (Bordeaux).
- Your thoughts and predictions on this game and the Argentina call-up list of players?