Lionel Messi scored twice and assisted on another goal in his first international start since November and Argentina outclassed Guatemala 4-1 on Friday night to complete its 2024 Copa America preparations.
Messi went the full 90 minutes for manager Lionel Scaloni
after playing 35 off the bench in a 1-0 win over fellow Copa America contenders
Ecuador on Sunday in Chicago.
He previously missed a pair of international friendlies in
March with a hamstring issue that has also contributed to his half-dozen
absences for Inter Miami in MLS play.
But his sharp performance Friday — in which he also struck
the woodwork with a free kick and contributed to a sequence leading to a
penalty kick goal — should ease Argentine concerns ahead of next Thursday’s
group play opener against Canada in Atlanta.
Going the distance also gave Messi reps with 15 Argentina
field players during the match.
“That was basically the idea, maybe to look for something
different, a chance to improve,” Scaloni said through an interpreter. “Angel Di
Maria came in and he played more on the inside because t”e way the game was
shaping up it gave us the opportunity to try new things.”
Lautaro Martinez also scored twice for the defending Copa
America and World Cup champions against a Guatemala side that’s 108th in FIFA’s
world rankings. That included Argentina’s goal from the penalty spot, a role
Messi typically assumes during tournament play.
“Leo Messi decided,” Scaloni said. “I don’t know exactly
what happened on the field, if he was asked or he decided to give it to him.
This shows how kind Leo Messi can be.”
Guatemala took a surprise lead in the fourth minute when
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez redirected a chance resulting from a
free kick only as far as defender Lisandro Martinez, who inadvertently bundled
the ball across the goal line.
The lead lasted only eight minutes before Messi tied it when
Guatemala goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen’s errant pass found the eight-time Ballon
d’Or winner directly in front of an open goal about 12 yards out.
In the 38th minute, Messi’s feed sprung Valentin Carboni
into the right side of the penalty area, forcing Guatemala defender Nicolas
Samayoa to haul down the winger with a sliding challenge that resulted in
Lautaro Martinez’s penalty shot.
Martinez scored his second in the 66th minute after Enzo
Fernandez’s ball over the top found Messi, who provided a perfect, one-time
service back across goal.
Messi finished the scoring in the 77th, chipping Hagen after
playing a give-and-go with Di Maria. AP