International Career
Following a string of good performances in his first season at Italian Serie A level, Argentina head coach Diego Maradona called up Pastore for national squad duty against a Catalan representative team for an unofficial friendly game on 22 December 2009. Pastore made his debut as a second half substitute scoring a goal in the process. As the game was not a FIFA recognised representative game, Pastore did not receive a cap.
He was subsequently called up by Maradona again for a friendly game against Germany, but did not get onto the pitch. His official debut was against Canada on 25 May 2010. Pastore was included by Maradona in Argentina's 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. On 22 June, Pastore made his World Cup debut when he came on the pitch in the 77th minute against Greece, replacing Sergio Agüero. Argentina won the match 2–0. On 27 June, he was again substituted on against Mexico in the 87th minute, this time replacing Maxi Rodríguez. Argentina won the match 3–1.
Read more about this topic: Javier Pastore
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