Argentina secure 5-0 defeat of Zambia at home in international friendly

[p]If, as widely believed, this was to be [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Lionel Messi[/a]’s final international on home soil, he wasted no time in making an impact, registering his eighth assist in nine internationals at La Bombonera.[/p][p]Just three minutes in, he played a pass to the feet of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alvarez-julian/bBHauDIC/"]Julian Alvarez[/a], [b]who fired into the bottom-left corner past a helpless [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mwanza-willard/G4beau1M/"]Willard Mwanza[/a][/b], putting them on an early course to make it five straight wins. Alvarez might then have turned provider seven minutes later, but his attempted ball at the end of a smart move ended up being intercepted.[/p][p]Predictably for a side that had conceded three or more times - and lost - in every prior game against a non-African side this decade, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/zambia/zBS458hb/"]Zambia[/a] offered virtually nothing in response. And despite the hosts not shifting much beyond second gear, Messi doubled his side’s advantage a minute before the interval, [b]when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mac-allister-alexis/fDPhMB8M/"]Alexis Mac Allister[/a] played a fantastic through ball to him, with the iconic forward duly firing into the bottom-right corner at close range.[/b][/p][p]Any fanciful hopes Zambia might have had in terms of snatching a result were finally snuffed out for good just five minutes into the second half.[/p][p]Having seen an earlier shot fly wildly over the bar, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kangwanda-albert/Aw070ULN/"]Albert Kangwanda[/a] brought down [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/almada-thiago/CSKGShgi/"]Thiago Almada[/a] with a clumsy challenge inside the box, but rather than take the penalty as expected, Messi handed the ball to vice captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/otamendi-nicolas/KSBVnX8R/"]Nicolás Otamendi[/a] - a potential passing of the torch moment -[b] and the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/benfica/zBkyuyRI/"]Benfica[/a] man effortlessly fired his spot kick down the middle after a calm and steady run up.[/b][/p][embed guid="50f7e4a5-d2bc-4061-83e1-20f8c9a15a4a" url="https://x.com/Argentina/status/2039153998062641660?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]With an 11th win in 13 matches now all but assured - alongside an extension of Zambia’s 100% losing record against South American opponents to a fifth game - the Argentine showboating duly resumed, and the gulf widened further on 68’, though there was little that could be done about [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a]’s fourth.[/p][p]Clever interplay between [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/barco-valentin/MXX0tUs3/"]Valentin Barco[/a] and Almada [b]saw the latter burst into the box and attempt a cross into the mix, only for the ball to deflect into the net off [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/chanda-dominic/A3rdXnft/"]Dominic Chanda[/a]’s head, as he attempted to intercept[/b].[/p][p]It was ultimately men against boys, and a mere workout for the defending world champions,[b] who added a fifth deep into stoppage time via Barco[/b]. With this result, they racked up a 26th clean sheet in 31 victories since they lifted the World Cup in December 2022. Meanwhile, Zambia’s improbable moment of glory against a South American giant will have to wait - they’ve now conceded at least twice in their last five friendlies.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: Lionel Messi (Argentina)[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/argentina-f9OppQjp/zambia-zBS458hb/?mid=ET8reDfR"]View the match stats for the game on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]