Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza has confirmed that striker Mauro Icardi will remain as the third choice for the Argentina national team.
It comes as a major blow to the forward, who is the Italian Serie A’s top goal scorer with 14 goals. The Inter Milan forward has been in fine form this season, although it has not helped Inter move up the table much.Icardi has been regarded as one of the talented forward available for the Argentina national team, who also have an incredible array of talent pool that includes Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, and Angel di Maria amongst others.
Yet, the national team managerBauza sees only three options when it comes to the centre forward role – Gonzalo Higuain,Lucas Pratto, and Icardi. Among these players, the manager has confirmed thatHiguain will be the first choice striker.
After securing a £ 75 million move to Juventus in the summer, Higuain is yet to score on the same level asIcardi but he still has 10 goals while playing for a new outfit. His goals have come without any penalties and they have helped Juventus maintain their position at the top of the table.Pratto, meanwhile, plays much closer to Argentina for Brazilian outfitAtléticoMineiro.
“Our starting striker is Higuain and behind him is [Lucas] Pratto. He’s a player I know very well, he’s given us results and he’s very important. Icardi will be called-up if something happens to one of these players, because he’s our third striker.But if they have problems, he knows he could be called,” said the manager, who has been under pressure from the start of the World Cup qualification campaign. Argentina have managed only five wins and went on a run of games without a win before coming up with a 3-0 win over Colombia in November.