Buenos Aires, Apr 2:
In what was likely his final home appearance for Argentina’s national squad, Lionel Messi scored a goal and provided an assist in a 5-0 rout of Zambia on Tuesday night in a farewell friendly ahead of the World Cup.The 38-year-old Messi set up Julian Alvarez in the fourth minute and then scored in the 43rd at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires.
The crowd gave him a standing ovation and pleaded with him to help Argentina win another World Cup. Nicolas Otamendi and Valentin Barco also scored for Argentina.
The defending world champions raised some concern after their lackluster performance last Friday in a 2-1 victory over Mauritania.
In the lead-up to the Zambia friendly, coach Lionel Scaloni had warned that if the team didn’t improve its performance he would take drastic measures regarding the 26-man World Cup squad, which must be submitted by May 30.For the last home game before the World Cup, Scaloni started with a lineup similar to that one that defeated France in the 2022 final, with the notable exclusion of midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, who is recovering from a muscle injury.