Tuesday, 9 February 2000 -- Coach Marcelo Bielsa announced the 19-man Argentina squad that will face England on Wednesday, February 23, 2000 at Wembley Stadium.  The squad is full-strength, containing 17 players from European clubs and only two based in South America, midfielder Claudio Husain of Argentina's Vélez Sarsfield and defender Juan Pablo Sorin of Brazil's Cruzeiro.

Most of the players based in Argentina are unavailable for selection because Argentina's top four club sides begin their Copa Libertadores campaigns just before the England match.  Bielsa also said he wishes to see his main foreign-based players under the pressure of a match against a top opponent.

The most notable absentees are midfielders Fernando Redondo of Real Madrid and Marcelo Gallardo of AS Monaco.  Argentine news reports indicated that Bielsa preferred the more combative duo of Matías Almeyda and Diego Simeone, both of Lazio, over the playmaking Redondo, apparently a reflection of his estimate of English football.  Gallardo is injured.

The match at what Argentine newspaper El Clarín called the "Catedral del Fútbol" will serve as a preparatory exercise for Argentina's marathon 18-match World Cup 2000 qualification campaign, which opens 29 March with a home match against Chile.

Friday, 18 February 2000 - Bielsa called up Boca Juniors defender Rodolfo Martin Arrubarrena to replace the injured Juan Pablo Sorín of Cruzeiro in Brazil and confirmed that Lazio midfielder Matías Almeyda will also miss the England match through injury.  Almeyda suffered torn muscle fibres in his right thigh during training with his club side Tuesday.