LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ángel di María, Alexis Mac Allister and Lautaro Martínez scored in the second half as a Lionel Messi-less Argentina came from behind to beat Costa Rica 3-1 in a friendly on Tuesday.
Manfred Ugalde put the Ticos ahead in the 33rd minute, but Di María equalized with a free kick in the 52nd and Mac Allister turned the result around in the 56th. Martínez extended the difference in the 77th for the Albiceleste to achieve its second victory on this date FIFA, after the 3-0 win it gave to El Salvador on Friday.
The mission against Costa Rica was somewhat more complicated for an Argentina whose coach Lionel Scaloni had tried several changes compared to the previous match.
“The second game was very helpful to us, I saw a very mature team because we found ourselves in difficulty, with the game down, and the team played a very good 25 minutes in the second half,” said Scaloni.
In goal, goalkeeper Walter Benítez (PSV Eindoven) made his senior debut in place of starter Emiliano Martínez. In defense, Nahuel Molina lined up in place of Nehuén Pérez, while in the middle, Rodrigo de Paul came out and Mac Allister played from the start.
In attack, Julián Álvarez came on for Lautaro – he was unable to break a long goalless streak against El Salvador – and Alejandro Garnacho started for the first time since the start at the Memorial Coliseum.
After the match, Scaloni indicated that Messi and Di María are the only players who are guaranteed a presence in the Copa América in the middle of the year, and in which Argentina will repeat as champion.
“I cannot guarantee anyone who has come here. Only the one who didn’t come, who you already know,” said the coach in reference to Messi. “The rest, pick and shovel. Well, “Fideo” (Di María) too… He has it guaranteed”
The winger Di María continued as captain in Messi’s absence due to injury and played despite receiving an anonymous death threat this week in his native city of Rosario, which investigators link to the wave of drug violence that is plaguing that town.
And it was Di María who got a match back on track in which Argentina went to half-time at a disadvantage.
Costa Rica took the surprising lead in a counterattack that arose from the Argentine area, Ugalde took possession of the ball and accelerated through the center of the field, before giving a pass to Álvaro Zamora, who shot cross and left footed. Benítez dived to block the shot, but it rebounded at Ugalde’s feet, and the Spartak Moscow attacker scored in the second instance in the 33rd minute.
The goal came in the moments of the first half when Argentina looked more dangerous but had encountered a couple of good interventions by goalkeeper Keylor Navas to keep the score at zero: one from a left footed shot by Alejandro Garnacho and another from a header from Nicolás Otamendi.
The Ticos’ score blurred the Albiceleste in the rest of the first half. But the world champions accelerated the pace from the start of the second half, in which Navas saved the team from him again, this time with his feet, after a shot from Enzo Fernández.
The goalkeeper could do nothing about the left-footed free kick taken by Di María, his former teammate at Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, who placed the ball at an angle. He followed a corner kick that generated a series of rebounds in the Costa Rican area, until Mac Allister gave the ball a goal with a header.
Costa Rica no longer had any efforts to seek the tie, and Martínez took advantage of a wonderful service from De Paul from the corner of the area to break the drought and finish against Navas, putting definitive figures on the scoreboard and giving the Argentines a perfect balance, in The two friendlies, the only tests that Scaloni will have to define the squad of 23 players that will defend the title in the next Copa América in the middle of the year.
It will be the first official tournament for the Albiceleste since winning the world championship in 2022.
The coach left open the possibility of including young players like Garnacho on the roster at the expense of some world champions who were not going through their best moment.
In the Copa América, Argentina will play the opening match against Canada on June 20 in Atlanta. Chile and Peru will be their other rivals in Group A.
Costa Rica had just defeated 3-1 in the CONCACAF playoff to qualify for the Copa América. The Ticos, now with Argentine Gustavo Alfaro as coach, will debut against Brazil on June 24 in Inglewood, California. They will also face Colombia and Paraguay in Group D.
Source: AP
2024-03-27 19:53:15
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