The difference in strength between the two teams is 53. Argentina tops the FIFA rankings, followed by Costa Rica at 54th. Of course, they are not a complete party. The North American country of Costa Rica regularly meets on the stage of the World Cup. But say Argentina. Everyone expected an easy victory. However, the world champions had to achieve that victory with some difficulty.
Argentina showed power in the match, but suffered a lot. The number one football team fell behind at the beginning of the match. But after the break, goals from Di Maria, Alexis McAllister and Lautaro Martinez sealed Argentina's victory. Lionel Scaloni's men ended their first international schedule of the year with a 3-1 win.
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It was already known that Argentina is going to play this match with several changes. That change, however, did not bring much benefit in the beginning. Argentina dominated the match. Neither Alejandro Garnacho, Julián Alvarez nor Angel de Mariad had much success in front of Costa Rica's solid defence. The Albiceleste could not take any shots on goal despite showing dominance in the first twenty minutes.
Against the tide, Costa Rica scored in the 34th minute of the match. Manfred Ugalde started a great counter attack. Alvaro passes the ball to Zamora. His shot was blocked by Argentina's debutant goalkeeper Walter Benitez. However, Ugalde hit the ball in the net on the rebound. The two teams ended the first half with this gap of 1-0 goals.
Argentina have produced more composed football since the break. Costa Rica then focused on defensive play. Both teams played physical football from the start. Argentina got a free kick just outside the box thanks to him. From there, captain Di Maria leveled Albiceleste with a great free-kick.
After this goal, the whole match basically came to Argentina. Costa Rica's defense is busy with one attack after another. The second goal came four minutes later. From the corner, Nicolas Tagliafico's header hit the crossbar in front of McAllister. This Liverpool midfielder headed the ball into the net at close range (2-1).
In the 70th minute of the match, Garnacho was raised and Lautaro Martinez was brought down by coach Scaloni. This striker, who has been in goal for Argentina for a long time, finally saw the goal today. This Inter Milan forward made the team score 3-1 with a great placing shot. However, Argentina could have scored one more goal in the match. Nicolas Gonzalez also beat Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas. The ball was going into the net. But the Costa Rican defender cleared it from the goal line at the end.