Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada in Argentina’s preliminary roster ahead of final pre-World Cup friendlies
Thiago Almada may have an outside shot of participating in the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina.
The Atlanta United playmaker was included in the Albiceleste‘s preliminary roster ahead of this month’s friendlies against Honduras (Sept. 23) and Jamaica (Sept. 27) – their final warm-ups before Group C action gets under way in November.
Head coach Lionel Scaloni included Almada in his initial list of 32 players and could potentially hand the 21-year-old his debut in the adult squad, after appearing with the U23 (3), U20 (7) and Olympic (2) sides.
Almada, who joined Atlanta earlier this year from Velez Sarsfield for a reported MLS-record $16 million transfer fee, has four goals and 10 assists in his debut season.
He becomes the second Five Stripes player to receive an Argentina call-up, after Gonzalo “Pity” Martinez got the nod from Scaloni back in 2019.
Almada and Atlanta kick off Sunday’s MLS action at the Portland Timbers (5:30 pm ET | FOX, FOX Deportes) in a crucial game for their Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs future.
