Argentina beat Honduras 2-0 on Saturday in their second-to-last friendly before the FIFA World Cup begins on June 11.
A raucous Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, cheered Argentina loudly throughout the match, but were likely disappointed as the team’s talisman Lionel Messi remained on the bench as he recovers from muscle fatigue.
Lautaro Martínez got the scoring going from the penalty spot for the defending World Cup champions in the 37th minute after a clumsy foul on Nicolás Tagliafico earned Argentina a spot kick.
Atlético Madrid attacker Giuliano Simeone scored to double Argentina’s lead early in the second half, with Lautaro’s clever backheel setting up his teammate for a close-range finish.
“We have to go defend what we achieved in Qatar. It’s going to be tough, but we’re going to give it everything to leave Argentina as high as possible,” Martinez said after the match.
Scaloni made a host of changes soon after Simeone’s goal, but Messi was not one of them. The 38-year-old star sustained a minor injury on May 25 while playing his last match with Inter Miami before joining the national team.
“When Argentines step onto a soccer field, it’s very hard for them to hold back,” Scaloni said with regard to members of his squad who did not play. “They always give everything, they hold nothing back. That’s why we manage the workloads and try to give minutes to the majority.”
The team has said Messi’s recovery time will depend on “his clinical and functional progress.”
Messi, who’s widely expected to retire from international soccer after this summer’s tournament, holds the record for most World Cup matches (26) and needs four more goals to surpass Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s World Cup record of 16.
Argentina begin play in Group J against Algeria on June 16, before facing Austria and Jordan. Piror to that, Scaloni’s side will face Iceland on June 9 in its final friendly before the World Cup.
ESPN’s Lizzy Becherano contributed to this recap. Information from The Associated Press was also used.
