The 26-year-old Maffeo, born to an Argentine mother, is joined by Olympiakos left-back Francisco Ortega as newcomers for the World Cup champions’ home match against Uruguay on Thursday and their trip to Brazil five days later.

The team led by captain and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi includes Benfica forward Angel Di Maria after missing last month’s qualifiers due to injury.

Argentina lead the South American qualifiers with 12 points after a perfect run in four matches. Uruguay are second with seven points, level with third-placed Brazil and fourth-placed Venezuela.

Argentina squad

Goalkeepers: Juan Musso (Atalanta), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Walter Benitez (PSV Eindhoven), Franco Armani (River Plate)

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest), Pablo Maffeo (Mallorca), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla), Francisco Ortega (Olympiakos), Nicolas Tagliafico (Olympique Lyon)

Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (AS Roma), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Exequiel Palacios (Bayern Leverkusen), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)

Forwards: Paulo Dybala (AS Roma), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla)