Argentina Under-20 national team head coach Fernando Batista called up Atlanta United's Ezequiel Barco to his 23-man roster for the upcoming CONMEBOL South American Under-20 championship.
Barco, who won MLS Cup with Atlanta United, started 19 matches and made seven other sub appearances off the bench in his first MLS season after becoming the most expensive transfer acquisition in league history from Argentine side Independiente. He emerged as a top Argentine prospect after leading Independiente to the 2017 Copa Sudamericana title.
The 19 year old was one of two players based overseas among Argentina's call-ups and he will be looking to help his country to a top four finish in the South American competition which awards four berths to the 2019 FIFA Under-20 World Cup.
The South American Under-20 championship will be played in Chile from January 17 to February 10. Argentina will begin group stage play on January 20, when they kick off a stretch of four matches in seven days. They must finish among the top three in Group B to move on to the final stage of the competition where the top four nations will book their ticket to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.
Poland will host the FIFA U-20 World Cup in May 2019. The USA have already qualified to play in the 24-team tournament, emerging from the Concacaf region.
