3-0: Messi comes on briefly, puts on another show and Argentina are thrashed

This is another characteristic of Scaloni: he likes to get disoriented in the initial formation and is always surprised by some decisions. This time he kept Messi, who was affected by a mild flu. Moments before the game, Lionel DT, then, decided to leave the genius Lionel on the substitute bench. “Messi, Messi, Messi…” was the loud popular claim at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. And Leo, 35 minutes from the end, came in and put on a show. Another show of magic and purpose. 10 always justifies the ticket price…

Argentina won 1-0 against weak Jamaica, but it was difficult for them to create goal situations. When Messi came in everything changed. A few minutes passed before Leo got into a rhythm. And when he got it, he didn’t stop. He tested the Jamaican goalkeeper several times. It wasn’t until near the epilogue that he submitted it twice. First, with a corner shot from outside the area. Then, on a free kick (for a foul committed against him) he put it low, in a corner.

Every Messi adventure is basically historic. This irrelevant friendly against Jamaica was no exception. It meant his 100th victory in the Argentine shirt, something no other footballer had achieved. And his double allowed him to reach 90 goals in the Albicelestes and to be on the podium of the top scorers of the national team. He has overtaken Malaysian Mokhtar Dahari, who is now fourth with 89. Ahead, he has Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo with 117 and Iranian Ali Daei with 109.

It’s 3-0 for Argentina against Jamaica. The Argentine coach chose to conduct some tests in the final rehearsal before closing the World Cup list. He sent Guido Rodríguez and Alexis Mac Allister flying through the middle of the court. He fielded Julián Álvarez from the start, sharing the attack with Lautaro Martínez, while Angel Di María was deployed as a winger on the right.

Argentina controls the ball and the game. He opened the quick result with a definition from Julián Álvarez after an assist from Lautaro Martínez with a good dribbling in the area after a play born in the area of ​​Dibu Martínez with a clear release from Cristian Romero.

Later, the albiceleste dedicated himself to playing and playing, under the command of Giovani Lo Celso. So there were some interesting triangulations and a long period of absolute dominance. Of course, without much depth, without scaring the Jamaican goalkeeper, there is almost no development of dangerous situations.

Jamaica’s inability to move from the three quarters of the pitch forward was evident in every attempt, proving why they will be watching the World Cup on television and why they are sixth out of eight teams in the not-so-complicated Concacaf Qualifiers. Not much happened until Scaloni put Messi on and the show became meaningful.

Argentina will come to the World Cup at its best. It is no coincidence that he has not lost in 35 games (he matched the streaks of Brazil between 1993 and 1996 and Spain between 2007 and 2009). At the World Cup he will surely try to break the best series without losing that drawn by Italy between 2018 and 2021 with 37 presentations without falls.

Anyway, they are numbers. The best thing about Argentina is that it supports them with many arguments. Has personality. There is an identity. In trust. In a team that is clear. With more than 11 headlines: Julián Álvarez is indicated as a replacement striker, Enzo Fernández returns to enter with total personality, Alexis Mac Allister responds, Papu Gómez asks to star… The reliable base is more than wide.

The final friendly is against the United Arab Emirates, on November 16 in Abu Dhabi, who are making their World Cup debut there. This is a chapter where the albiceleste will not ask for much, only to find a sponsor and “tear off their legs”. Except for one last name on the list, everything is very clear. Argentina and Messi now go for the highest dream. For the World Cup. They have something.