Lionel Messi not on Argentina's Olympic soccer squad; Julián Álvarez among selections

Lionel Messi won't be in Argentina's squad at the Olympics starting later this month in Paris.

Coach Javier Mascherano included four World Cup winners in the squad he announced Tuesday, including striker Julián Álvarez and defender Nicolás Otamendi.

Messi, who has struggled with injuries this year, is now playing at the Copa América, aiming to defend the continental title he won in 2021. That victory served as a springboard for Argentina to lift the World Cup in 2022, the crowining acheivement of Messi's storied career.

The 37-year-old superstar won the Olympic gold medal at Beijing in 2008.

Mascherano, who won the Olympic gold medal as a player in 2004 and '08, will add goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli, Otamendi and Álvarez to his squad after Copa América is finished. Midfielder Claudio Echeverri, a recent signing for Manchester City from River Plate like Álvarez two years ago, will also join.

Argentina will play two friendlies in France before its Olympic soccer tournament opener against surprise 2022 World Cup semifinalist Morocco on July 24. Argentina and Morocco are in Group B along with Iraq and Ukraine.

Reporting by The Associated Press.