The world champions had no problems getting past their African opponents…
Argentina closed out their 2025 calendar with a 2-0 win over Angola in Southern Africa, in a lively friendly.
Lionel Scaloni fielded a strong line-up, and while his team were not always at their fluent best, moments of quality from Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez proved enough to settle the contest.
Angola began brightly, pressing high and unsettling the visitors. Their early energy nearly produced a breakthrough when a corner caused panic inside the Argentina penalty area, ending with Chico Banza forcing Geronimo Rulli into an important save.
The hosts continued to threaten on the counter, with Luvumbo twice testing the goalkeeper after driving forward from wide areas.
Argentina struggled for rhythm in the opening 20 minutes but gradually gained control. Messi began to find pockets of space, and the first major chance fell to him when Martinez slipped him through, only for goalkeeper Hugo Marques to make a strong save.
Moments later, Messi was again involved in a sweeping move from back to front, but he struck wide from close range.
The breakthrough arrived in the 43rd minute. Messi collected the ball on the edge of the box and paused before threading a precise through pass into the path of Martinez.
The striker finished neatly from a tight angle, squeezing the ball under Marques to give Argentina a 1-0 lead at the interval.
Angola emerged strongly after the restart, winning early corners and pushing Argentina back. Their best chance came on the hour when Carneiro’s driven cross found Luvumbo unmarked, but he failed to hit the target.
Argentina, meanwhile, were more measured in possession and created chances sporadically, including a Messi volley that flew over the bar.
The decisive second goal arrived with eight minutes remaining. After Messi’s run was halted on the edge of the area, the loose ball fell to Martinez, who resisted the temptation to shoot. Instead, he slipped a disguised pass out wide to Messi, who took a touch before bending a composed finish into the bottom corner.
A flurry of late substitutions from both managers disrupted the tempo, but Argentina saw out the match comfortably in the end.
Angola’s performance offered encouragement ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations campaign, while Argentina ended the year with another reminder of why they are world champions.
Will these two teams be at the World Cup?
Argentina will after cruising through the Conmebol qualifying section. Lionel Scaloni’s side finished top with 38 points from 18 games, nine ahead of second-placed Ecuador and 10 in front of a quartet of teams that included Brazil.
Angola, ranked 89th in the world, won’t be in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer after finishing fourth in Group D of CAF qualifying.
