Without Messi, Argentina lost miserably to Spain
On a day without many key players, especially conductor Lionel Messi, the Argentina national team was crushed by Spain with an unbelievable score of 6-1 - the heaviest defeat in the history of the Albiceleste.
Score
Spain:Costa (12'), Isco (27', 53', 74'), Thiago (55'), Aspas (73')
Argentina:Otamendi (39')
Entering the match against Spain at Wanda Metropolitano, Argentina was missing many important pillars, from Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria to Sergio Aguero. Meanwhile, La Roja deployed a squad of excellent players including bright faces such as Andres Iniesta, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Isco and Diego Costa.
With a superior squad, it was not difficult to understand why Spain was the team with the advantage after the opening whistle. And in the 12th minute, the home team opened the score thanks to striker Costa. In the 27th minute, the gap was doubled, and the person who put his name on the scoreboard was Isco after a neat kick in the penalty area.
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| Otamendi was the only one to score for Argentina. |
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| Messi watched helplessly as his teammates were crushed. |
Receiving two buckets of cold water, Argentina strongly attacked, and in the 39th minute, Nicolas Otamendi jumped high to powerfully head the ball from a corner kick on the left wing, shortening the score to 1-2.
However, sadly that was all the reigning world runner-up could do, because in the remaining time, Spain turned Wanda Metropolitano into nothing more than a training ground.
Specifically, from the 52nd to the 74th minute, Spain tore Argentina's net 4 more times, in which midfielder Isco scored 2 more goals to complete his impressive hat-trick. The remaining two goals belonged to Thiago Alcantara (55') and Iago Aspas (73'). In the end, Argentina was defeated 1-6 by Spain.
Notably, this was the worst defeat in the history of the Tango team. In the past, Argentina also experienced a similar score twice, when they lost to Czechoslovakia in the 1958 World Cup and Bolivia in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Starting lineup
Spain:De Gea; Carvajal, Pique (Azpilicueta 72), Ramos, Alba (Alonso 79); Koke, Thiago (Parejo 82), Iniesta (Niguez 56); Isco (Lucas 76), Costa (Aspas 45), Asensio
Argentina:Romero (Caballero 22); Bustos (Mercado 62), Otamendi, Rojo, Tagliafico; Bigila, Mascherano (Pavon 56), Lo Celso (Acuna 84), Banega (Perez 62), Meza; Higuain (Martinez 59)
