Lionel Messi came off the bench to score his 117th international goal as Argentina sealed their World Cup preparations with a 3-0 friendly victory over Iceland, their first match against European opposition since the 2022 World Cup final.
The crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium were treated to an eventful opening ten minutes. Iceland’s Mikael Ellertsson wasted a good early chance, blazing a close-range effort over the bar. Minutes later, Iceland failed to clear a deep free-kick, and Valentin Barco made them pay with a crisp first-time shot from the edge of the box that flew past Olafsson at the near post.
The game quietened down after that, though Barco then played a fine through ball for Nico Paz, who was unable to beat Olafsson, leaving Argentina with a narrow lead at half-time.
Shortly after the hour mark, Alexis Mac Allister struck the woodwork from a Lautaro Martínez pass, before Martínez himself hit the same post with a curling right-foot shot.
Attention then turned to Messi’s arrival from the bench. Almost immediately, his first touch produced a clever through ball that led to Martínez being brought down in the box. Messi stepped up and buried the penalty into the top corner.
He then set up Rodrigo De Paul, whose squared pass left Thiago Almada with an easy finish for the third.
Argentina cruised to a seventh straight win ahead of their World Cup opener against Algeria, while Iceland are left with much to think about after six matches without a win.
