Jun 14, 2024, 9:54 p.m. ET
The Argentine National Team closed his preparation for the Copa America 2026 versus Guatemala at the FedExField in Maryland, with a 4-1 victory, to arrive in the best way for the debut against Canada next Thursday.
The Argentine goals were scored thanks to the doubles of Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez.
At the start of the game there was a very curious play. At 4 minutes Guatemala had a ball stopped from the left and its center It ended up bouncing off Nahuel Molina after a short rebound from Dibu Martínez and Lisandro Martínez couldn’t get it out and it became 1-0 for the Central American team.
Seven minutes later the return of courtesy arrived. Argentina pushed hard for the departure of the Guatemalans and Goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen tried to pass it first and gave it to Lionel Messi who made it 1-1.
A couple of minutes later, Dibu had another failed start and almost made it 2-1 for Guatemala.
In the following minutes, Argentina took the ball but without having the clarity of other games and without achieving great partnerships between the midfielders with the attack.
The Argentine back did not have the usual security and the rival team raised some doubts behind the center backs.
At 30 minutes, Messi had the clear option from the door of the area with a free kick, but his shot was controlled by the goalkeeper.
As the minutes passed, Scaloni’s men began to feel more comfortable and dominated the field and possession of the ball, despite not generating great scoring chances.
At 38 came the play that gave Argentina the advantage. Good partnership on the right, which ended with a pass for Valentín Carboni, who received a very clear penalty. Lautaro Martínez took charge of the shot and made it 2-1 with a perfect charge.
In the next play, Messi was in front of the goalkeeper, but could not score the third due to a good start from Hagen.
In the last of the first half there were two very clear ones for Argentina. First it was Messi, who looked for a very strong free kick at the goalkeeper’s post and the post returned the shot. In the continuity of the play, Carboni sent a cross that ended with a spectacular overhead kick from Lautaro, which hit the crossbar. Then Lisandro Martínez scored offside but everything was invalidated.
The match began with the same tone as the end of the first half with Argentina very active and looking to be deep.
Scaloni made several modifications to refresh the team with the additions of Ángel Di María, Leandro Paredes and Rodrigo De Paul, for Carboni, Lo Celso and MacAllister.
Within a few minutes the results were seen. Di María started it from the right, Messi stopped Enzo Fernández, who returned it to the 10th with a very classy touch to leave him in front of the goalkeeper. Leo chose to serve the goal to Toro Martínez, who scored his double and made it 3-1.
At 27, Di María was on the verge of scoring a huge Chilean goal, but the goalkeeper had a magnificent response.
Scaloni completed the six changes with the additions of Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Martínez Quarta and Julián Álvarez, giving the team a lot of rotation and refreshing players who had a great job like Enzo and Lautaro.
At 31 minutes the fourth arrived. An incredible meeting between Messi and Di María, who gave a delicious assist for the captain to score without problems against the goalkeeper.
Argentina closed its preparation with a performance from less to more and faces the defense of the title in the Copa América, which will begin against Canada, this June 20.
