World Cup champions Argentina breezed past El Salvador on Friday night, topping the Central American squad 3-0 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, the first of their two friendlies in this international window.
But this match was less about winning for Argentina, and more about learning how to play without their biggest star, Lionel Messi, and making way for others to find their footing on the pitch as the team inches closer to defending their Copa America title this summer.
Argentina is without Messi after the Inter Miami forward suffered a hamstring injury in his club’s CONCACAF Champions Cup win against Nashville last week. He subsequently missed Miami’s next match against D.C. United before the international break.
In Philadelphia, Ángel Di Maria quietly embraced his role of captain in Messi’s absence, while acknowledging that the team was missing an important piece of their puzzle without him.
“I think having the best (player) in history, being able to train with him, play with him, it’s the best,” Di Maria told reporters. “It’s sad that this happened to him right now – but we have to remain calm, and better that it happened now so he can be better for Copa America.”
Di Maria set up Argentina’s opening goal with a corner kick that set up Cristian Romero to score a header after towering over a line of defenders in the 16th minute. It was Di Maria’s 27th assist with the national team, edging him past Diego Maradona as the player with the second most all time for Argentina. Messi is first, with a staggering 54 career assists.
“The truth is that always being here, for me, is a source of pride,” Di Maria told reporters after the game. “I try to give it my all at the club level to be here.”
Di Maria adding to his legacy on the path to Copa America is poetic. The veteran midfielder has announced his retirement, and Copa will be his last dance with the team. In 2021, it was Di Maria’s lone goal that lifted Argentina over Brazil in the Copa America final at Maracanã Stadium, the nation’s first major title since 1993 and the first major international crown for Messi.
The team used this friendly against El Salvador to work out some kinks in their game, and welcomed younger players into the fold. It was the first time the group competed together in four months, after defeating Brazil 1-0 in November.
Although they went into halftime with a 2-0 lead on Friday, it seemed Argentina spent the first half adjusting to playing without Messi. His absence was obvious, as Argentina’s attack sputtered against an inferior opponent, with rumblings by Argentinean reporters saying “falta Messi,” or “Messi is missing.”
Entering the match, in the six years under manager Lionel Scaloni, Messi led Argentina with 42 goals, followed by Lautero Martinez with 21 and Di Maria with nine.
By the second half, Argentina seemed more settled in their attack, peppering El Salvador’s net with a steady stream of shots. By the time Giovanni Lo Celso scored in the 52nd minute, giving Argentina their third goal, the defending World Cup champions had full control of the game.
Though certainly the stronger team, Argentina had the occasional moment on their defensive end, with a simple mistake giving El Salvador a rare goal-scoring opportunity. Although that attack was short-lived, it could have been a fatal defensive error for Argentina against a stronger opponent.
But that’s what games like these are for, several players assured reporters after the game.
Scaloni used this game to give more playing time to some of the team’s rising stars, like 19-year-olds Alejandro Garnacho and Valentín Barco, who debuted with the senior team on Friday. When asked about the pair of teens, midfielder Rodrigo De Paul said, “It makes me happy because, at the end of the day, they’re the future of this team.”
It’s a future that is fast approaching, especially as veteran stars bow out of competition with the injuries that get more common as players grow older.
Messi has been a central figure of the senior squad since his 2005 debut with the national team.
Though the most recent World Cup in Qatar was said to have been his last, it’s unclear just how much longer the striker will remain in the fold for the senior national team after the conclusion of Copa America this summer.
Argentina now faces Costa Rica on Tuesday, before returning to the U.S. for a friendly with Guatemala at FedEx Field in their final scheduled fixture before Copa.
(Photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
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