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Icardi: Argentina have the best attack in the world

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Argentina star Lionel Messi

After being named in the Argentina squad with Paulo Dybala and Lionel Messi, Mauro Icardi says his country has the world’s best attack.

Mauro Icardi believes Argentina have the best attack in world football, with Lionel Messi, Paulo Dybala and Sergio Aguero joining the Inter forward in the current squad.

Argentina face Uruguay and Venezuela in upcoming World Cup qualifiers, with plenty of work to do to book a place at next year’s tournament in Russia, sitting in fifth place and with only the top four going through automatically.

New Argentina head coach Jorge Sampaoli has such strength in depth in attack that he can afford to leave out Dybala’s Juventus teammate Gonzalo Higuain for his first competitive matches in charge.

And despite Argentina’s perilous position, with only four qualifiers still to play after defeat in Bolivia last time out, Inter captain Icardi is excited to link up with Messi and Dybala, as well as Angel Di Maria and Ever Banega in a star-studded line-up.

‘We have the best attack in the world,’ Icardi said. ‘It is very important for me to be able to play and develop with players like Messi, Dybala, Di Maria and Banega.

‘They have great qualities, they will surely help my game and I intend to return the favour.’

Icardi struck a brace in his side’s Serie A opener against Fiorentina on Sunday, and the forward is keen to continue his early-season form for Argentina, for whom he has been selected in a competitive squad for the first time since November 2013.

‘It was a great match, from the first minute we knew what we wanted and we went out on the pitch to do our best,’ Icardi said.

‘It’s not a message to Sampaoli, I think the call-up is a prize for all the work I’ve been doing these years. I want to demonstrate for the national team the same thing that I show with my club.’

– This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo.co.za