Argentina defeats Mauritania without convincing

The Argentine national team, the World Cup holder, achieved an unconvincing victory over its Mauritanian counterpart 2-1 in a friendly match held in the capital, Buenos Aires, yesterday, Friday, Argentine time, as part of its preparations for the World Cup finals that begin next June.

After canceling the “Vinalisima” match between Spain, the European champion, and Argentina, the Copa America champion, in Qatar due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, Lionel Messi’s teammates had only two matches against Mauritania (ranked 115th in the world) and Zambia (91st) to fill the international calendar.

The Argentine national team began the match, putting pressure on the Mauritanian goal under the watchful eye of Messi (38 years old), who sat on the bench, and succeeded in opening the scoring through Enzo Fernandes, the English Chelsea player, who followed a creeping cross pass at the penalty mark into the net (16).

Italian Como midfielder Nico Bas doubled the score with a direct free kick with his left foot from a distance of 25 meters (32), scoring the first goals for his country's national team.

After entering the field after the break, Messi received warm encouragement from the fans of the Bombonera Stadium, in what may be his penultimate match on Argentine soil before his retirement from international football.

Under the rain, the second half witnessed only a few glimpses of brilliance, while coach Lionel Scaloni's men did not present a noteworthy performance except to confirm the quality of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez's saves, who was repeatedly tested by Mauritania players.

The three-time world champions conceded a goal in stoppage time, when Jordan Lefort, Angers' French defender, pounced on a rebound after a fumble inside the penalty area, thus rewarding Mauritania's efforts by reducing the difference in the score (90+4).