Argentina vs Costa Rica highlights, ARG 3-1 CRC: Messi-less Albiceleste cruise to win; Lautaro, Di Maria, Mac Allister among the goals

Three second-half goals by Angel Di Maria, Alexis Mac Allister and Lautaro Martinez, respectively as Argentina beats Costa Rica 3-1 and ends the international break on a high. 

Paredes pulls the trigger from distance but it is a weak effort as the ball rolls out of play. 

Carboni looks to have a perfect debut as he takes a shot at goal from the right side of the box, but Navas is there to make the save. Despite conceding three goals, he has been excellent for Costa Rica tonight. 

Three minutes added at the end of the second-half!

Costa Rica subs: IN- Mora, Contreras OUT- Lassiter, Ugalde

Nico Gonzalez gets at the end of a long ball and makes his way towards goal. Once inside the box, he lifts the ball above Navas, but Quiros, who tracked Gonzalez’s run, clears the ball off the line to deny a fourth goal to Argentina. 

Rodrigo De Paul goes on an inspiring run with a burst of pace from midfield. He makes his way inside the box and shoots at goal but the wonderful run does not result in a goal, as Navas makes a solid save to send the ball out for a corner. 

Argentina subs: IN- Nico Gonzalez, Pezzella OUT- Enzo, Otamendi

Argentina sub: IN- Carboni OUT- Di Maria

As Carboni comes on the pitch to make his Argentina debut, Di Maria goes off amidst loud cheers from the Argentina faithful. It was his goal that got Argentina back into the match. He passes on the captain’s armband to Rodrigo De Paul. 

Costa Rica sub: IN- Aguilar OUT- Zamora

The goal-drought for his country is over for Lautaro Martinez. He finds the net for Argentina after 18 games and does it with a stylish finish. De Paul does well to make a run inside the box and slip a pass for Lautaro, who finds the far-corner with an excellent finish. 

No one tracked Di Maria’s run down the right flank and suddenly Costa Rica is under pressure. He finds Lautaro with a cutback, with the latter trying to wrap his foot around the ball but he cannot make a good connection. 

Argentina subs: IN- Lautaro, De Paul OUT- Garnacho, Lo Celso

Costa Rica booking: Faerron sees a yellow card for his late challenge on Garnacho. 

Costa Rica subs: IN- Madrigal, Brennes OUT- Alcocer, Aguilera

Garnacho goes down inside the box and looks at the referee, with the hope of getting a penalty but the referee asks him to get up and continue playing. 

It has been an inspiring performance from the world champion in the second-half. Must have been some half-time talk from Lionel Scaloni. At the moment, it is all Argentina and Costa Rica is on the backfoot but it has already scored one against the run of play today. 

Argentina sub: IN- Paredes OUT- Mac Allister

Di Maria swings in a good cross from an Argentina corner. Otamendi wins the header and the ball goes towards Tagliafico, whose header hits the crossbar and comes back into play. But the danger remains as the ball falls to Mac Allister, who heads the ball inside the net. And just like that, Argentina has the lead, scoring two goals in four minutes. 

Argentina almost takes the lead courtesy of Alvarez’s first-time shot but it whistles above the crossbar.

Angel Di Maria comes clutch again for his country. This time, he shows his class from a freekick as he goes for goal directly from the set-piece. It is a perfect connection with the ball as it flies and rattles the roof of the net. Navas dives at full-stretch but cannot get his hand to it. This is Di Maria’s 30th goal for his country. 

Navas to the rescue again for Costa Rica. Di Maria finds Enzo inside the box, who shoots first-time. But Navas makes an excellent save to tip the ball out for a corner. A brilliant save from the veteran. 

Relentless pressure from Argentina but the Costa Rica defence is still standing strong. They are defending as an unit. 

Di Maria floats a cross towards the back-post, with the hope of finding Garnacho but the Manchester United player could not reach to the ball in time, as it goes out for a goalkick. 

Costa Rica leads Argentina 1-0 as the second-half gets underway at the United Airlines Field at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

Manfred Ugalde’s goal keeps Costa Rica in a 1-0 lead against Argentina at the break. Noot many predicted this scoreline. 

We will be back after a break. Stay tuned for live updates from the second-half!

Argentina booking: Nahuel Molina is shown a yellow card for a cynical challenge on Zamora near the touchline. 

Di Maria puts in a floating cross inside the Costa Rica box from the freekick, with Garnacho getting at the end of it. He goes for a cutback from the left but Ugalde is there to clear the ball. 

Two minutes added at the end of the first-half!

Garnacho does well to find Enzo from the left flank, but the latter does not get enough time to position his body and get a shot away. 

Alcocer shoots from distance but it is a weak effort, as the ball rolls out of play. 

Molina finds Enzo with a cutback from the right flank, with the latter going from a first-time shot. However, it is not a good connection from the Chelsea midfielder and ends up skying his effort. 

Di Maria passes the ball to Molina, who had made the overlap. Molina goes in for a low and hard cross from the right but nothing comes off it. 

Lassiter puts in a good cross inside the Argentina box from a freekick. Calvo gets at the end of the cross and tries to work Benitez with a header. However, his effort is not on target and the ball goes out for a goalkick. 

This is exactly what Argetina would have feared, after not doing better with its attacks. Ugalde has scored completely against the run of play and now the pressure is on the Albiceleste. 

Argentina, pressing high, is caught out of position as Ugalde launches a counter-attack. He had Zamora in support and releases the ball for him. Zamora gets inside the Argentina box and goes for a low shot. Benitez makes the save but cannot do anything about the rebound, as Ugalde taps the ball inside the net from close-distance.

Di Maria’s backheel allows Molina to put in a driving cross inside the Costa Rica box, but Cascante is positioned well to intercept and the send the ball out for a corner. 

It is Di Maria who goes for a direct shot from the freekick. He gets the ball over the wall but cannot beat Navas, who catches the ball with relative ease. 

Lo Celso is brought down by Aguilera and Argentina has a freekick in a dangerous area. This is prime Lionel Messi territory but he is not there for the Argentines today. 

And just like that, Costa Rica could have scored a goal against the run of play. Ugalde gets at the end of a cross from a corner, rising above everyone to get a header away at goal. However, the effort is straight at Argentine debutant Walter Benitez, who does well to keep his composure and hold on to the ball. 

Argentina has the perfect chance to put Costa Rica under pressure. Lo Celso leads the attack but he dwells on the ball for too long and ends up losing the ball. 

Argentina comes close to scoring again, this time from a freekick. Otamendi gets at the end of an excellent cross from the left and his header is on target. But Navas comes good again for his team, making a brilliant save from a point-blank range. 

Garnacho looks to be a menace on the left and this time, he goes for a shot across the face of the goal. Navas saves the shot with a solid pair of hands. The rebound falls to Enzo, who shoots at goal but his effort is blocked. 

Costa Rica looks to stitch its first proper attack in the match. Ugalde leads the charge but he is fouled by Molina. But Costa Rica keeps possession and the referee plays the advantage. However, the Costa Rica cannot create anything from it. 

Alavarez uses his pace to race towards the Costa Rica goal after getting at the end of a through ball. Once inside the box, he goes for a grounded shot. He connects well but the angle was tight, making it relatively easier for Navas to make the save, sending the ball out for a corner. 

Nothing comes from the resulting corner. 

Garnacho tries to slip in Enzo with a weighted pass from the left flank but overhits his pass, as the ball goes out of play. 

As expected, Argentina is having most of the ball and looks more threatening but Costa Rica’s defence has stood strong till now. In the latest move, Di Maria gets the ball at the right edge of the box and attempts a curler. But his shot is blocked. 

Costa Rica’s Ugalde tries to start a counter-attack, passing the ball to Quiros on the left, who had made an overlapping run. But Garnacho does well to track back and put Quiros under pressure, hence stopping the counter.

Argentina surges forward as Julian Alvarez leads the charge. He reaches the edge of the Costa Rica box and tries to thread a pass to Enzo Fernandez but his pass is cut out. 

Costa Rica is going for the high press right from the start but Argentina has the quality to soak the pressure and keep possession. 

The international friendly between Argentina and Costa Rica has kicked-off at the United Airlines Field at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

Navas(GK) (c), Cascante, Faerron, Clavo, Galo, Aguilera, Quiros, Lassiter, Zamora, Alcocer, Ugalde

Total matches – 7

Argentina wins – 5

Costa Rica wins – 0

Draws – 2

Argentina will play Costa Rica in an international friendly at the United Airlines Field at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Wednesday. 

Argentina has enjoyed good form since its World Cup win in Qatar, and with the 2024 Copa America knocking on the door, defending champion La Albiceleste will look to get as much game-time as possible and strengthen their tactics under the tutelage of Lionel Scaloni.

Coming on the back of a 3-0 win against El Salvador, the world champion will look to continue its fine form and notch another win under its belt. 

Costa Rica, on the other hand, has been a little shaky in the recent past and was knocked out in the Nations League quarterfinal after losing 6-1 to Panama. 

Gustavo Alfaro’s men won 3-1 in their last match, and while they would start the match against Argentina as heavy underdogs, on their day, Los Ticos can be a tricky outfit to deal with. 

Injury updates and team news

The biggest miss for Argentina is its captain Lionel Messi, who continues to recover from a muscle injury. It would also miss the services of Paulo Dybala. 

Real Betis’ Guido Rodriguez has been called up, with uncapped Valentin Carboni also getting a place in the squad. 

There are no notable injury concerns for Costa Rica, and Alfaro should have a full-strength team at his disposal ahead of the clash against Argentina.

Predicted XI

Argentina: Martinez (GK), Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico, De Paul, Paredes, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Martinez, Alvarez 

Costa Rica: Navas (GK), Dosman, Cascante, Arboine, Calvo, Mora, Campbell, Galo, Brenes, Zamora, Ugalde

When and where will the Argentina vs Costa Rica international friendly match kick-off?

The Argentina vs Costa Rica international friendly will start at 8:20 AM IST on Wednesday, March 27 at the United Airlines Field at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. 

Where to watch the Argentina vs Costa Rica international friendly match in India?

The Argentina vs Costa Rica international friendly can be live streamed on the Sony LIV app and website. 

Where to watch the Argentina vs Costa Rica international friendly match outside India?

United States- Fubo