Valentín Gómez has received his first senior call-up for the Argentina national team. The 22-year-old Real Betis centre-back joins an expanded 37-man squad for the September international window, which includes Lionel Messi's farewell match.

Head coach Lionel Scaloni announced the selection on Saturday. "Ha anunciado este sábado que el central bético Valentín Gómez se suma a la convocatoria de la albiceleste," Scaloni said. The list now includes six players from Argentine domestic football and three based abroad, with Gómez standing out after earning 11 caps for the Argentina U20 side.

The farewell window

Argentina will play three friendly matches during this FIFA date. The first is against Bolivia on 30 September at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba. The Albiceleste then moves to Buenos Aires to host Burkina Faso on 3 October and Benin on 6 October, both at the Monumental. The final match is designated as Messi's official farewell from the national team.

Gómez's call-up is part of a generational refresh Scaloni is overseeing while the team sits top of their World Cup qualifying group with a perfect nine points from three games.

Other new faces

Alongside the Betis defender, Scaloni has called up eight other players. From Argentine football come Leonel Flores (Boca Juniors), Tomás Palacios (Estudiantes) and four River Plate players: Santiago Beltrán, Thiago Almada, Nicolás Otamendi and Tobías Andrada. From abroad, joining Gómez are Santiago Simón (Toluca) and Ezequiel Fernández (Bayer Leverkusen).

Giovani Lo Celso had already been confirmed previously for Messi's farewell match. Meanwhile, other internationals with past links to Spanish football like Ez Abde (Morocco), Troy Parrott (Ireland) and Álvaro Fidalgo (Mexico) have also been called up by their respective nations. Facundo Bernal returns to the Uruguay squad after over two years since his debut.

Scaloni's side enters these matches on a run of four wins from their last five outings, though the 1-0 loss to Spain on 19 July remains a recent memory. The squad, which you can review in our squad section, will aim to maintain its positive momentum against manageable opponents before resuming the World Cup qualification push.

The original report is at Mundo Deportivo