Without Messi, Argentina lost miserably to Spain
On a day without many key players, especially conductor Lionel Messi, the Argentina team was crushed by Spain with an unbelievable score of 6-1 - the heaviest defeat in Albiceleste history.
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 fielded a squad of talented players including 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 scoring 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 helplessly watched his teammates being crushed. |
Receiving two buckets of cold water, Argentina rushed forward strongly, and in the 39th minute, Nicolas Otamendi jumped high to head powerfully 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 scored 4 more goals against Argentina, with midfielder Isco scoring 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 suffered a 1-6 defeat against Spain.
Notably, this is 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.
Line-up
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)
