Franco Pérez received an unexpected call-up to the Argentina Under-20 national team just days after being dropped from a preliminary squad by Colombia, as reported by AS Colombia.
The 18-year-old midfielder, who plays in the youth divisions of Boca Juniors and signed his first professional contract this past June running through December 2028, holds dual Colombian and Argentine nationality. Born in Medellín on November 27, 2008, while his father, Omar Pérez, played for Independiente Medellín, the 1.90-meter-tall playmaker found himself at the center of an abrupt international tug-of-war.
Sudden Exclusion From Colombia Squad
The sequence began when the Colombian Football Federation included Pérez in a preliminary list announced on November 2 for a training microcycle in Bogotá and an upcoming friendly tournament in Atlanta, United States, scheduled from November 10 to 17. However, according to El Espectador and Win Sports, the player was removed from the squad just two days later and only hours before he was set to board a flight to Bogotá.
Neither youth team coach César Torres nor the Colombian federation provided an official public explanation for the sudden omission. Infobae and Revista Semana noted that sports journalist Carlos Antonio Vélez suggested on his radio program that the decision could be tied to an administrative conflict involving the player’s father and a local independent tournament not recognized by the federation.
Training Camp in Ezeiza Under Placente
Seizing the opening, Argentina Under-20 coach Diego Placente named Pérez to a squad for a four-day training camp running from November 11 to 14 at the Lionel Andrés Messi training complex in Ezeiza, as detailed by El Espectador and Win Sports.
#Sub20 Convocados para trabajar desde mañana en Ezeiza ⚽️ 📝 https://t.co/mqCo8BrYpB pic.twitter.com/g2Pd7ra5Pp
Pérez took to social media to react to the dramatic shift in his international horizon, quoting a biblical verse on Instagram: Todo tiene su tiempo, y todo lo que se quiere debajo del cielo tiene su hora,
as reported by Revista Semana.
Preparation for the 2027 South American Championship
Both national teams are shaping their rosters ahead of the South American Under-20 Championship, which CONMEBOL has scheduled to take place in Colombia from January 22 to February 7, 2027. The tournament will use Medellín and Envigado as host cities, offering four direct berths to the World Cup of that category.
While Pérez’s presence in Placente’s microcycle does not guarantee a spot in official fixtures or a final commitment to the Albiceleste, it opens the possibility that the Medellín native could face his country of birth when the continental tournament takes place.
