Messi Magic & Barco Brilliance Lead Argentina Past Iceland
- Calum Ewing
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Credit Jake Crandall/Montgomery Advertiser
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
In front of an record crowd of 88,043 for a soccer match in the state of Alabama, Lionel Messi made one of the quickest instant impacts ever before seen on the pitch. His playmaking, along with a first half masterclass from Valentin Barco, led Argentina to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Iceland in the last match of the Road to 26 World Cup tune-ups at Jordan Hare Stadium Tuesday night.
Credit Jake Crandall/Montgomery Advertiser
Argentina’s star power of Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, and familiar MLS players of past and present Thiago Almada and Rodrigo de Paul, may have started on the bench, but that did not mean the starting 11 was lacking in quality. Lisandro Martinez and Nicolas Otamendi, expected World Cup starters, led the defense, while Valentin Barco, Giuliano Simeone, Facundo Medina, and young Como star Nicolas Paz took up more advanced positions.
Iceland had failed to qualify for the World Cup, finishing third in their qualifying group behind France and Ukraine. They brought a strong lineup with Fiorentina left-sided attacker Albert Gudmundsson and Real Sociedad forward Orri Oskarsson looking to cause problems in the attack, while national team legend and familiar name in English football Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea City, Everton, Tottenham) began on the bench.
Iceland’s first touches on the ball created what should have been an early goal. While on the counter, Gudmundsson recieved the ball on the left and whipped in a beautiful pinpoint cross towards Mikael Ellertson at the back post. Unfortunately for the underdogs, Ellertson skied the shot attempt over the bar, letting Argentina off the hook.
Just over a minute later, Valentino Barco lost his man and made a splitting run into space down the left flank, getting played a cross for Argentina’s first chance on goal. Unfortunately, his volley attempt in the box was a complete whiff. That would not matter when the 8th minute came around, as a mad 15-second scramble in the box ended with the ball at Barco’s feet from a failed clearance. Taking a half-volley attempt first time from the left side of the arc, his strike would curl outward and bounce past Iceland’s goalkeeper Olafsson into the bottom left corner for the 1-0 lead and chaotic limbs across Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Credit Jake Crandall/Montgomery Advertiser
Four minutes later, Argentina almost had a second as an Icelandic giveaway allowed Jose Manuel Lopez to forward into the final third. He laid off a pass to his right, watched the ball get laid off again to the overlapping forward, and then a shot intended for the bottom left corner slowly bounced into a dangerous position. However, before another Argentine could reach the end of the unintentional cross, Olafsson came out of goal to push the threat away.
After an exciting start to the match, both teams started to settle in for the next 25 minutes, with Argentina heavily controlling possession and creating some brilliant passing sequences with no end product. That was until after the water break, however, as Iceland became the dominant team on the ball and looked to continuously switch play and put their forwards in behind.
The next best chance in the match came for Argentina in the 41st minute. Barco was the standout for Argentina again, chipping a ball over the Icelandic backline to meet Nicolas Paz in the left side of the 18-yard box. Paz proceeded to rip off a shot against the sprawling Olafsson in a 1v1 situation, but the goalkeeper proved victorious with a save off his face.
Three minutes later, for the final chance of the first half, Iceland’s Isak Johannesson got off a strike after a deflected layoff attempt at the top of the box, but Argentina’s Rulli managed to shift behind the pacy ball and make a settling save with his legs.
As the masses lost their heads to the sight of Lionel Messi warming up on the sidelines, Argentina pressed for a second goal at the start of the final 45. Simeone found space on the right and beat his man in the box, but hesitated to play a ball across. He eventually found substitute Enzo Fernandez on the other side of the box, who took it past the defender to his left and tried to cross it back in, only to be denied by Olafsson’s leg.
It truly should have been a two-goal advantage for Argentina in the 57th minute when Nicolas Paz was played through into loads of space on the right flank behind the entire opposition defense. With a 2v1 against the goalkeeper created, Paz played the ball across to sub Lautaro Martinez, but the pass was too far ahead and the sliding effort for contact was to no avail.
Iceland nearly made them pay for the miss four minutes later. Hakon Haraldsson drove centrally, competed a great 1-2 to beat some defenders, and hit a strike from the top right of the 18 just wide and off the ad boards.
Argentina responded quickly. Lautaro Martinez now found himself on the right side of the pitch, chipping a ball across the box to a wide-open Alexis Mac Allister. The substitute forward calmly went to place the ball across the goalie to the back post, but his effort ending up rattling off the post! Martinez himself would hit the post in the 67th minute, being played a long ball over the top on the left-hand side and dribbling towards goal before hitting the same back post from a tighter angle.
Credit: Getty Images via AFP
With all the missed chances, who better than to bring in as a super sub than Lionel Messi? The man who every fan filling the stadium waited in anticipation to see stepped onto the pitch in the 70th minute, and believe it or not with his first touch, he played an incredible through ball to meet the central run of Lautaro Martinez, putting him through on goal! Martinez flicked the ball past Olafsson, which went agonizingly wide left by the finest margin, but he was clipped and fouled by the goalkeeper.
So of course, it was Lionel Messi’s penalty to take.
With a confident run-up, the greatest soccer player of all time scored a goal in the state of Alabama. When the ball sailed over the outstretched hand of Olafsson into the top right corner and sent shockwaves through the back of the net, shockwaves could be felt for miles from the roar of the crowd. Argentina finally had their second goal to ice the match, and who better to do it for an event such as this?
Why not add a third? Just over 15 minutes after his substitution, Messi was played a through ball on the right by Rodrigo de Paul, who rushed forward past Messi and an Iceland defender to be played in near the end line. The Inter Miami midfielder then calmly centered the ball into the box, where Thiago Almada had plenty of time and space to allow it across his body and finish calmly with his left foot into the bottom corner.
Iceland had one last big chance in stoppage time, but the dream night for Argentina would not be spoiled. Daniel Gudjohnsen nearly folded his body to meet a cross at the top of the 6-yard box, with the goalkeeper off his line and plenty of goal open to his right. However, the ball did nothing more than deflect off his head and go harmlessly wide.
With that, the final whistle was quick to blow, and Argentina left Auburn with the best-case scenario: No injuries (in a physical match with plenty of Icelandic yellow cards), a strong attacking performance, and a night to remember for Lionel Messi, pleasing the thousands as he always has managed to do.
The world champions’ next game will be in the World Cup, traveling to Kansas City and facing Algeria on June 16 at 8:00pm.
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