Argentina Thrash Zambia 5-0 in Home International Friendly

As many expected this to mark Lionel Messis last outing on home turf, he quickly left his mark by notching his eighth assist across nine recent internationals at La Bombonera.

Only three minutes had passed when he delivered a precise pass to Julian Alvarez, who slotted the ball into the bottom left corner beyond a powerless Willard Mwanza, setting Argentina on track for a fifth consecutive victory. Alvarez nearly set up a teammate seven minutes on, yet his pass during a clever sequence got blocked.

True to form for a team that has shipped three or more goals while losing every match against non African opponents this decade, Zambia barely mounted a challenge. Even as the hosts cruised in second gear, Messi extended the lead just before halftime, after Alexis Mac Allister threaded a superb pass his way, allowing the legendary striker to drill the ball low into the bottom right corner from close range.

Any slim chance Zambia held of pulling off an upset vanished completely five minutes after the restart.

After an earlier effort sailed high over the crossbar, Albert Kangwanda felled Thiago Almada with a rash tackle in the penalty area, but instead of stepping up himself as anticipated, Messi passed the responsibility to deputy captain Nicolas Otamendi in what could symbolise a handover, and the Benfica defender coolly converted the penalty straight down the centre following a composed approach.

With a 11th triumph in 13 outings now virtually guaranteed, plus prolonging Zambias perfect record of defeats to South American foes at five, Argentina eased into flair and extended the margin further at the 68 minute mark, although little could stop their fourth goal.

Neat exchanges between Valentin Barco and Almada led to the latter surging into the area and crossing towards the crowd, but the ball ricocheted off Dominic Chandas head into the goal as he tried to clear it.

It proved a complete mismatch and a simple exercise for the reigning world champions, who notched a fifth right at the end through Barco. This outcome brings their tally to 26 shutouts in 31 wins since claiming the World Cup in December 2022. For Zambia, their dream of upsetting a South American powerhouse remains elusive as they have now leaked at least two goals in each of their past five warm up games.