Messi, who scored twice, was the star of the match.
His second goal, which he scored after taking a penalty, was expertly constructed. The No. 10 controlled the game from beginning to end.
#Argentina – #Honduras Played on September 23, 2022
Following up on his comments in the press room, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni selected a starting XI that included a core of the players who will captain the Albiceleste throughout the World Cup in Qatar.
However, the tactician also threw in several less well-known players, including Papu Gomez in midfield, German Pezzella in defence,
and Geronimo Rulli in goal.
Messi and Lautaro Martinez continue to be the uncontested leaders of the front line,
though
Two of the team’s younger players really stepped out in the second half,
Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez,
who displayed excellent link-up play with Messi and the rest of their teammates.
Under Scaloni,
Lautaro Martinez scored 21 goals.
Honduras was forced to chase for the ball as a result of Argentina’s early dominance.
Messi put up an attack on the right flank and sent the ball to Gomez,
whose shot was diverted by a Honduran defender,
only taking the team’s first real opportunity at the 10-minute mark.
The Albiceleste produced another outstanding play in the fifteenth minute.
Once more, Messi started the attack by finding Gomez in the area with a ball over the top,
which he then let run for Lautaro Martinez,
who scored.
Since Scaloni took over as coach, Martinez has now scored 21 goals for the national side,
matching Messi’s total.
In the last seconds of the first half,
both teams committed a number of fouls,
which eventually resulted in collisions on the field and the first yellow cards.
But soon before the first half finished,
Messi converted a penalty that he had personally earned to increase Argentina’s lead.
From 11 yards, he casually slid the ball home,
outmuscling Luis Aurelio Lopez with a shot that went beneath the keeper.
After the break, Messi scored an outstanding goal to complete his hat trick.
He chipped the ball with a deft touch while facing the Honduran goalkeeper,
sending it over the shot blocker and into the goal.
Argentina defeated Honduras 3-0 with ease thanks to two goals from Lionel Messi,
extending their unbeaten streak to 34 games.
For the first goal, the 35-year-old was in the thick of things,
lobbing the ball over the defence to Papu Gomez, who then gave Lautaro Martinez a tap-in.
Lionel Messi’s expertly taken double helped seal a comprehensive 3-0 win for Argentina over Honduras in Miami on Friday to extend their impressive unbeaten run ahead of the Qatar World Cup.
The Argentina captain scored a goal in each half, his opener doubling the lead given to Lionel Scaloni’s team by Lautaro Martinez early on.
Finally. Argentina haven’t lost in 34 matches heading into Tuesday’s game against Jamaica in New York.
the thousands of Argentina fans who packed Hard Rock Stadium in a crowd of 64,420
“The game was what we expected,” Argentina coach Scaloni said.
“I am satisfied with that.
“As far as players who didn’t play,
as a coach I have to manage minutes and rest some players. Most important thing is that whoever plays proves they can belong and can play.”
Honduras failed to qualify for Qatar and were under pressure from the off,
Alejandro Gomez blazing an early effort over before Rodrigo De Paul screwed a shot just wide.
And it was the Paris St.Germain forward who started the move which created the opener for Martinez on 16 minutes,
was deemed a penalty by referee Rubiel Vazquez and Messi coolly rolled in the penalty to double the lead for Scaloni’s men.
The former Barcelona star, who played for the full 90 minutes,
remained in the thick of the action and almost grabbed his second on 56 minutes but failed to finish off an excellent,
free-flowing move when his shot sailed over the bar.
