The Argentine National Team defeated Panama 2-0 this Friday in a friendly that served the albiceleste as an excuse to celebrate obtaining the third world title achieved in Qatar 2022, and that allowed Lionel Messi to reach 800 goals in his career . Argentina managed to crown the round number of goals for its captain and become the first world champion of the century to win its title for the first time after the failed Brazil (2002), Italy (2006), Spain (2010), Germany (2014) ) and France (2018).
With goals from Thiago Almada and Messi himself, the Argentine team achieved a victory in front of their fans, in a Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires with more than 83,000 spectators, in a day that was marked by festivities of lights, fireworks and various Musical shows. After a moment of pure emotion when the world champion entered the stadium with the players along with his children, it was difficult for the Albiceleste to impose their game against a Panama that reached South American territory without its main figures.
Panama played this match without its coach, the Danish Thomas Christiansen and with Jorge Dely Valdés leading a youth team, while the main leaders stayed in the country preparing for next Tuesday’s duel against Costa Rica for the sixth round of the League of Nations of Concacaf.
Argentina, meanwhile, had an exciting reunion with its audience that applauded their idols and heroes who won the world title, after 36 years of waiting since that distant conquest in Mexico in 1986.
The match began with a tepid attack by the local team that found no connections between the local players and a strong Panamanian defense led by Edgardo Fariña. In the 17th minute, and after the usual ovation for Diego Maradona in the 10th minute, one of the clearest moments of the game arrived with a free kick taken by Messi that hit the post against a José Guerra who only managed to look at the ball. .
Argentina had two more chances thanks to a weak shot from Alexis Mac Allister that Guerra controlled in the 23rd minute and another from Ángel Di María five minutes later who had a shot that went wide over the crossbar. At minute 42, Argentina once again had their great opportunity with a burst of pure explosion from right to left, but their definition went over the post. A minute later Enzo Fernández tested from medium distance and the goalkeeper Guerra with a spectacular fly from Guerra to take the ball to the corner kick.
In the second half, Lionel Scaloni decided to move the bench with the entries of Lisandro Martínez, Thiago Almada and Lautaro Martínez for Nicolás Otamendi, Alexis Mac Allister and Julián Álvarez, while on the visit Víctor Medina and Omar Browne replaced Cristian Quevedo and Ronaldo Cordova. Messi, at the beginning of the complement, almost converted with a closed corner that demanded Guerra’s response and in the 51st minute another free kick from Messi demanded a new intervention by the San Francisco FC goalkeeper. In the 56th minute, another free kick from the Argentine captain and French PSG player demanded Guerra again, who took the ball over the crossbar.
In the 77th minute, Messi again struck a free kick off the crossbar and on the rebound, first Leandro Paredes missed and then Thiago Almada defined the cross to overcome the resistance of the Central American team. In minute 80 the captain tried his free kick again but it went wide. However, the Argentine public exploded with the thunderous “Messi, Messi” as support for the world star who the next minute had her on the move again, but his shot was contained by Guerra.
In the 86th minute Messi had the physicality for a new play in slalom and gave a ball to Lautaro Martínez, who took a shot that again found Guerra well placed to contain the ball. In the next minute Messi made it 2-0 with a free kick in which he put the ball into Guerra’s upper left corner, who could not do anything for the Argentine star to reach 800 goals in his career and 99 scores with the Argentine National Team.
In this way the curtain was closed and Argentina had time to crown their world champion party in front of their audience with a Messi who fulfilled the objective of celebrating the 800th goal of his career. For the Albiceleste, the future marks a new friendly next Tuesday against Curaçao at the Madre de Ciudades De Santiago del Estero stadium, while Panama will face Costa Rica for the sixth day of the Concacaf Nations League.
