BUENOS AIRES - Former Argentina World Cup forward Ariel Ortega was a surprise inclusion on Tuesday in a squad named by coach Diego Maradona for a friendly against Haiti next week.

The 36-year-old River Plate playmaker, who won the last of his 86 caps in 2003, was included in a squad of 17 home-based players to meet Haiti in Cutral Co in the southern Andean province of Neuquen on May 5.

"The truth is this is a great joy for me to be in the national team, the maximum I've ever experienced in football," Ortega, who played at the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups, said.