Argentina cruise past Honduras in Texas friendly

TEXAS: Argentina secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over Honduras here at Kyle Field in College Station on Saturday in their penultimate warm-up match ahead of the FIFA World Cup, which begins on 11 June.

Playing in front of a passionate crowd, the reigning world champions delivered a solid performance despite the absence of Lionel Messi, who remained on the bench as he continues to recover from muscle fatigue.

Argentina took the lead in the 37th minute when Lautaro Martinez converted from the penalty spot after Nicolas Tagliafico was brought down inside the area.

The Inter Milan forward calmly dispatched the spot-kick to put Lionel Scaloni’s side ahead.

The South Americans doubled their advantage shortly after the interval. Martinez turned provider with a clever backheel pass that found Giuliano Simeone, who finished from close range to score Argentina’s second goal of the evening.

Following the goal, Scaloni made several substitutions in an effort to manage his squad’s workload, although Messi was not introduced.

The 38-year-old sustained a minor injury while playing for Inter Miami on 25 May and is being carefully monitored ahead of the tournament.

Speaking after the match, Martínez emphasised Argentina’s determination to defend the title they won in Qatar.

"We have to go defend what we achieved in Qatar. It's going to be tough, but we're going to give it everything to leave Argentina as high as possible," he said.

Argentina will conclude their World Cup preparations with a friendly against Iceland on 9 June before opening their Group J campaign against Algeria on 16 June. They will also face Austria and Jordan in the group stage.