Argentina, already certain of a ticket for the World Cup, will play its last two matches in the qualifiers this month. The Argentines will take on Venezuela and Ecuador.
National coach Lionel Scaloni has made a pre-selection of no fewer than 44 players for those two games, including the brothers Franco and Valentin Carboni.
The 18-year-old Franco is a left wing attacker, his 17-year-old brother Valentin plays on the right wing. The Carboni brothers are the sons of former Argentine football pro Ezequiel Carboni.
They were born in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, but play at Inter. They have dual nationality and have always defended the colors of Italy in the youth series.
The summoning of the very young brothers raises eyebrows, especially in Italy. If they come into action in the unnecessary international matches against Venezuela or Ecuador, they cannot play for the Squadra Azzurra later. The Italian media therefore suspect a devious maneuver by Scaloni to definitively bind the Carboni brothers to Argentina.
In Argentina, the pre-selection is mainly seen as a signal to the youth that they are being watched. In addition to the Carboni brothers, Alejandro Garnacho (17, Manchester United), Luka Romero (17, Lazio), Matias Soulé (18, Juventus), Tiago Geralnik (18, Villarreal) and Nico Paz (17, Real Madrid) are another handful of teenagers.
