Emiliano Buendía, the midfielder for England's Aston Villa, has been called up by Lionel Scaloni for the friendly match against Angola in Luanda on Friday. After his standout performance in the 4-0 victory against Bournemouth on Sunday for the eleventh matchday of the English Premier League, the Mar del Plata native will join the Argentina national team's training sessions in the Spanish city of Alicante. The player, who has only played one match for the albiceleste in 2022, is back on the Argentina national team roster after his call-up in June for the penultimate double matchday of the South American World Cup qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. In his last appearance with the world champions, the midfielder was on the bench against Chile in Santiago and was left out of the squad altogether against Colombia in Buenos Aires. The 28-year-old player is having a great start to the season with Aston Villa, having played 14 out of 16 possible matches in the English Premier League, EFL Cup, and UEFA Europa League. In these 14 matches, he has scored four goals: three in the domestic competition and one in the continental tournament against Feyenoord of the Netherlands. Four players were previously released from the squad. Footballers Enzo Fernández, Nahuel Molina, Julián Álvarez, and Giuliano Simeone were released by coach Lionel Scaloni for the friendly match that the Argentina national team will play against Angola in Luanda. According to the AFA, the Chelsea midfielder is suffering from a bone edema in his right knee and will be protected to continue his recovery. Meanwhile, the three Atlético de Madrid players will be sidelined as they did not arrive in time with the health procedures related to the yellow fever vaccine required to enter Angola. The only players from the Spanish club who arrived on time with the health procedures to be present for the friendly are midfielder Thiago Almada and forward Nicolás González, who are training with the Argentina national team in the Spanish city of Alicante. With these absences, coach Scaloni will have 23 players available for this friendly as defender Lisandro Martínez of Manchester United, who resumed training after a ligament injury, and Kevin Mac Allister, brother of Alexis Royale Union Saint-Galloise, have joined the squad.
