World champions Argentina continue to be in good form. The Albiceleste completed their task relatively easily in a friendly against Angola, winning 2-0. Lionel Messi shone once again.
Argentina was the guest in the West African metropolis of Luanda on Friday, where it faced Angola south of the equator. The favorites were clear: anything less than a victory for the Albiceleste, who coach Lionel Scaloni had to do without World Cup winners Julian Alvarez, Nahuel Molina, and Giuliano Simeone, who were not allowed to enter Angola due to missing yellow fever vaccinations, would have been an embarrassment. That did not happen, even though Angola put up a very decent fight.
The “Palancas Negras” (English: Black Rhinoceros) played a lot down the wings, repeatedly crossing the ball, but were unable to capitalize on this offensively. The hosts put up a strong fight, as evidenced by their 59 percent tackle success rate. And in other aspects such as shots on goal (7:8),
fouls (12:16) and corners (5:6), the performance was impressive. However, Argentina was clearly the better team, with 66 percent possession over the 90 minutes and more than twice as many passes (512:253). Ultimately, it was no surprise that the world champions won.
However, both goals in the 2-0 victory came from counterattacks: shortly before the half-time whistle, Lionel Messi, who may soon be honored with a statue in front of the renovated Camp Nou in Barcelona, drove forward on the right and played a vertical pass into the path of Lautaro Martinez, who then scored with a full-blooded shot into the near corner from 11 meters out on the right (43′). Despite their lead, the South Americans continued to struggle, failing to add to their tally for a long time and consequently having to endure a nervous wait. However, the 2-0 came in the 83rd minute: Angola’s center back Buatu made a mistake, clearing inadequately into the middle to Martinez. The 28-year-old Inter Milan striker then played a superb through ball into the box to Messi, who in turn thanked him and scored from 11 meters out on the left into the far corner.
In the end, Argentina secured their third win in a row, ending the World Cup year with an impressive record of just one defeat in nine games. The Albiceleste, who had already qualified for the finals in Canada, Mexico, and the USA, lost 1-0 to Ecuador at the end of the South American World Cup qualifiers. In addition to victories over Uruguay (1-0), Brazil (4-1), Chile (1-0), Venezuela (3-0 and 1-0), Puerto Rico (6-0) and now Angola (2-0) in their last international match of the year, there was also a 1-1 draw with Colombia.
