The Southamerican U-20 Championship without Messi and Aguero (31 Dec 2006 12:31 GMT)
The Argentinian U-20 national squad has already started preparation for the Southamerican U-20 Championship, to be held in Paraguay from January 7th until the 28th of the same month. Besides the continental champions crown, four spots for Canada's 2007 U-20 World Cup, and two for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing are at stake in this competition.
Despite the significance of the tournament, neither Lionel Messi nor Sergio Agüero will take part in it. Both players have already earned themselves a spot in Argentina's senior national team and are playing for important clubs in Europe, which would have made it difficult to get them to play for the youth team at this time.
Provided Argentina qualified for it, these two players would possibly be present at Canada's U-20 World Cup in July. Europe's club competitions will be over by then, and both Messi and Agüero would still be eligible, in terms of age, for their country's team.
source : lionelmessi.org