Argentina drops Carlos Tevez for World Cup qualifiers

BUENOS AIRES (AP) Boca Juniors striker Carlos Tevez is the most notable absentee in Argentina's squad for the South American World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia.

Coach Gerardo Martino announced the squad on Tuesday with midfielder Fernando Gago and defender Ezequiel Garay also omitted, despite being part of the team which was runner-up in the 2015 Copa America.

Tevez started his career at Boca and returned in June 2015 from Juventus, having been part of the side that won two Italian league titles and reached its first Champions League final in more than a decade.

The defending champion is in sixth position in Group B in the Argentine Championship, eight points behind leaders Lanus after six games. It

''The issue with Carlos also has to do with Boca. It isn't only because of him. It is a complex situation at Boca,'' Martino told radio Rivadavia on Monday night, before the squad was announced.

Before it was made public, Tevez told radio La Red that he would be ''neither surprised nor annoyed'' if he was not selected.

Argentina has five points after four group matches, seven less than leader Ecuador. Lionel Messi's team will visit Chile on March 24 and will host Bolivia in Cordoba on March 29.

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Squad:

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Manchester United), Nahuel Guzman (Tigres, Mexico), Geronimo Rulli (Real Sociedad).

Defenders: Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Facundo Roncaglia (Fiorentina), Gabriel Mercado (River Plate), Martin Demichelis (Manchester City), Matias Musachio (Villarreal), Ramiro Funes Mori (Everton), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Leonel Vangioni (River Plate), Javier Pinola (Werder Bremen), Martin Demichelis (Manchester City).

Midfielders: Matias Kranevitter (Atletico Madrid), Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Lucas Biglia (Lazio), Augusto Fernandez (Atletico Madrid), Ever Banega (Sevilla), Enzo Perez (Valencia), Javier Pastore (Paris Saint-Germain), Eric Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur).

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Angel di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Hebei Fortune, China), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Nicolas Gaitan (Benfica), Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli).