In the match of the first round of the group stage of Quartet D, the national team of Argentina not without difficulty defeated the Chileans. The second rival of the blue and white in the tournament was the less ambitious team - the Panama team.
Argentina's national team is considered the main favorite of the anniversary America's Cup in football. In this regard, the game with the Panama national team should not have been very difficult for the Argentines. There was no sensation on the pitch. Argentina's national team had a total advantage and won a big and confident victory.
There was no captain in the starting lineup of the Argentines again. Lionel Messi is not yet ready to play for the national team after an injury. But even without Messi, the Argentines scored an early goal. In the 7th minute, Angel Di Maria from the free-kick well hung in the area of the goalkeeper's square, where Nicolas Otamendi sent the ball into the net with his head. Argentina took the lead 1: 0.
55 thousand spectators waited for the second goal of the Argentines for more than an hour, although even in the first half, Gonzalo Higuain could increase the advantage of the favorites. In the 61st minute, Lionel Messi's long-awaited appearance on the field took place, and after seven minutes the Argentine captain scored his first goal in the tournament with an accurate shot from outside the penalty area.
Lionel scored twice more. First, in the 78th minute, the leader of the Argentines' attacks hit a nine from a free kick, and then scored a hat trick three minutes before the end of the meeting.
The final score on the scoreboard was set by another star striker of the Argentina national team, Sergio Aguero. The striker sent the ball into the goal with his head in the 90th minute after Marcos Rojo's discount.
The final score of the match 5: 0 in favor of the Argentine national team guaranteed the winners access to the playoff stage. The Argentines have two victories after two matches in the tournament. Panama has only three points left.
