World Cup 2018: 5 Argentina players who should have been selected in the final squad

With the World Cup 2018 inching closer, the 32 nations have been asked to submit their final 23-man squad for the tournament by June 4th.

Jorge Sampaoli recently released his final squad by leaving 12 players out from his preliminary 35-man squad. With La Albiceleste boasting a bunch of heavyweights in their line-up, the manager has made some questionable squad selection for the sport's greatest competition.

Here's the final 23-man squad that will accompany Sampaoli to Argentina:

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Manchester United), Willy Caballero (Chelsea), Franco Armani (River Plate)

Defenders: Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), Cristian Ansaldi (Torino), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Federico Fazio (Roma), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon)

Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Hebei China Fortune), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica), Lucas Biglia (AC Milan), Giovani Lo Celso (Paris Saint-Germain), Ever Banega (Sevilla), Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors)

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

While the list looks strong and complete enough to compete for the World Cup glory, here are five such Argentinians La Albiceleste might miss in the tournament.

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#5 German Pezzella

German Pezzella missed out on the World Cup squad

Fiorentina centre-back German Pezzella, a rather unknown name alongside the heavyweights of Argentina, was left out of the World Cup squad. His inclusion would have made more sense ahead of Gabriel Mercado, who recently encountered an injury against Real Betis.

Should Mercado fail to recover in time for the tournament, Argentina will be forced to field a defence scarce of experience. German Pezzella could have extended a helping hand in that case.

Pezzella has also proved himself better than Mercado in several other instances. According to Squwaka.com, the Fiorentina centre-back has managed a defensive average score of 6.95 in contrast to Mercado's 5.52.

With Pezzella left out of the 23-man squad, all we can do is pray that Sampaoli doesn't regret his decision in the World Cup.

#4 Leandro Paredes

Leandro Paredes was excluded from the 23-man squad

Midfielder Leandro Paredes has impressed since his move to Zenit St. Petersburg from Roma. The 23-year-old attracted the interests of Real Madrid and Juventus but failed to make a solid lasting impression on Jorge Sampaoli, who left him out of the final squad.

The Argentinian coach has favoured AC Milan's Lucas Biglia over Paredes, despite knowing the fact that the former offers less flexibility in midfield when compared to the latter.

The Zenit midfielder has the pace and strength to effectively play as the centre midfield, an advantage the one-dimensional Biglia does not offer. Coming to their stats this season, Paredes has scored four goals and assisted in five, in comparison to Biglia's one goal and one assist in the league.

That's enough evidence to suggest that the 24-year-old deserves to be on the plane to Russia this summer.

#3 Angel Correa

Angel Correa failed to make it to the preliminary squad

Atletico Madrid forward Angel Correa was far from making the 23-man squad. The 23-year-old didn't even make Argentina's 35-man list which seems to be a little too harsh for a regular at Atletico Madrid, one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

Correa's inclusion in the World Cup squad would have given coach Jorge Sampaoli more flexibility. According to Whoscored.com, he has featured in seven different positions over 58 games, scoring seven goals and assisting eight for Atletico this season. He also played an integral part as Diego Simeone's men lifted the Europa League title.

While Sampaoli has decided to go with West Ham's Manuel Lanzini who has impressed this season, Angel Correa would have been the better choice considering his experience at the highest level

#2 Geronimo Rulli

Gernomino Rulli should have made it to the 23-man squad

Geronimo Rulli is another name that has been overlooked by Jorge Sampaoli while selecting his final squad. Like Correa, he too failed to make it to the preliminary squad, let alone the final group of players.

Sergio Romero, Willy Caballero and Franco Armani have been selected for goalkeeping. Without a doubt, there's a plethora of experience amongst Romero and Caballero, but neither of the two has been the first-choice shot-stopper for their respective clubs, accounting to a really meagre number of minutes on the pitch.

31-year-old Franco Armani, the third-choice goalkeeper, lacks enough international experience. Geronimo Rulli, on the other hand, has been a regular starter for his club and has a good experience on the international stage.

Rulli has made 2.28 saves per game and has a distribution accuracy of 76%, better than that of Romero and Caballero.

Geronimo Rulli should have at least made it as a third-choice goalkeeper in the squad. However, the Real Sociedad shot-stopper will have to wait for another four years to have the chance of representing his nation at the World Cup.

#1 Mauro Icardi

Mauro Icardi failed to make the cut despite having an exhilarating campaign

Find me a footballer unluckier than Mauro Icardi and I will wait. As for the Inter forward, he will certainly be gutted after not finding his name in the 23-man squad.

If 29 goals in 36 games are inadequate to earn a berth in the World Cup squad, how many are sufficient to make it?

What's more heartbreaking for Icardi is the fact that Gonzalo Higuain will be on the plane to Russia despite having a comparatively disappointing record this season. The Juventas striker has 23 goals in 50 games but seems to have made it to the squad with ease.

The absence of a European competition might have harmed his chances dearly. But, there's no doubt Argentina will miss the Capocannoniere winner in Russia.