Argentina vs Guatemala Highlights: ARG 4 - 1 GUA; Lionel Messi stars with brace in Copa America warm-up

No injury time and the referee brings the game to close. Argentina romps to an easy 4-1 win with Messi the star of the night, scoring two and setting up another. 

Too many touches from the Argentine front three allows Guatemalan defence to regroup. Counter attack threat defused. 

Guatemala finally gets a chance to put the ball forward. A cross from the left byline misses everyone in the box. The eventual shot is easily blocked. Argentine charges forward with the ball again. 

Guatemala struggling to stay afloat in the face of this free-flowing Argentine attack. Messi goes for a left-footed curler from the edge of the box. Fizzes past the upright. That would have been his hat-trick. 

Too easy for Argentina. Too easy for Messi. A zipping one-two with di Maria puts Messi face-to-face with the Guatemala keeper. This time he slots it in. Messi goes level with Ali Daei. 

Three-on-three as Argentina breaks free. Di Maria side foots it for Alvarez, who shoots at goal. Hagen makes another save. The rebound pops up for Di Maria, who tries an audacious bicycle kick. Saved again by a retreating Hagen. 

No respite for Guatemala as Argentina keeps surging forward. Rodrigo de Paul is the latest to make an attacking foray. He slots it in, but is called back for an offside. Messi follows it up with a solo run. But he is denied by the keeper. 

Incredibly unselfish from Messi. He was face-to-face with the keeper after playing a silky one-two with Enzo. But instead of shooting, Messi places it back for Lautaro to make an easy tap in. 

Couple of big changes for Argentina. In comes Rodrigo de Paul, Angel di Maria and Paredes as Scaloni looks to shake things up. 

Argentina continues to dominate proceedings. Guatemala attempts to break free with a counter attack, which is quickly snuffed out by the Argentine defence. 

Superb attacking move with Messi at the heart of it. The ball eventually gets to Nico Gonzalez inside the box. He takes a touch and shoots. Good block by Morales. 

Guatemala with a chance to put the ball into the box after a foul by Molina in the defensive half. Morales eventually gets the shot away. But it is narrowly wide of the left top corner. 

Argentina continues to dominate possession. Crisp passing from the South American side. Martinez fails to control a quick pass from Messi, allowing Guatemala to clear their lines. 

Long ball forward for Argentina. Messi puts Carboni through. The winger gets to the byline but can’t find the right cut back. Guatemala regroup. 

Second half begins with Guatemala kicking the action off. 

What a phase of play. Lionel Messi thumps the freekick against the left hand post following which the ball is played in again, Lautaro’s acrobatic bicycle attempt then thunders off the crossbar. Lisandro has the ball in the net at the end of all this but the refree blows for a foul. 

End of the first half. 

A freekick to Argentina at the edge of the area after the defender clatters into Martinez while looking to head the ball away.

Lautaro one-on-one with the keeper, tries to put the ball past him. Doesn’t count anyway as the linesman has his flag up for offside. 

GOAL!! Lautaro Martinez calmly slots in the penalty to the bottom left corner to give Argentina the lead!

ARG 2 - 1 GUA

Penalty!! Carboni is taken down in the box after a searing run down the right flank. It was Samayoa with the tackle. Can’t complain a lot about that.

Lisandro Martinez plays a lovely ball in between the lines to Messi. His shot is deflected off the legs of the defender and is out for a corner. 

Deep delivery is headed back into the danger area but Lautaro’s shot is deflected behind again.

Quick feet from Carboni on the right wing to play in Nahuel Molina. His low cross is deflected behind for a corner. There are appeals for handball but the referee waves them away. 

Hagen punches the resultant corner away.

Argentina with more control over the ball now. Short passes between the midfielders and defenders but no real penetration possible. 

Yellow card for Marco Dominguez for his incessant fouling on Messi. Completely unnecessary that from the midfielder.

Messi fires the freekick on target but the keeper is up to the task.

Argentina try to conjure up another chance as Messi switches the ball left to Nico. He plays a ball in to the middle but it is put out for a corner. Samayoa rises to head the incoming corner from Messi and clear the danger.

Fresh wave of attack from Guatemala. Santis makes a darting run into the box down the right flank but the ball in is not strong enough.

First yellow card of the game for Nicolas Otamendi. Quite a cynical one, diving in on the opponent. 

Argentina lose the ball in midfield. Guatemala turns it wide and puts a cross in but the defence does enough to deal with it. 

Chance for Guatemala!! Emi Martinez comes out of the box to clear a ball in. Kicks it straight into the path of a Guatemalan player who’s attempted lob is just over the bar. 

GOAL!! Quick turnaround for La Albiceleste and its the main man, Lionel Messi. An absolute shocker from the keeper Hagen who kicks it straight at Messi. He has an empty net to turn it into. 

ARG 1 - 1 GUA

Argentina keen on increasing the intensity of play and move forward but Guatemala are managing to maintain possession in the middle of the park. 

Argentina with a spring in their step after conceding an early goal. Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez try a one-two near the penalty box but the defender reads it and clears. 

GOAL!! Guatemala has taken a shock lead!! A cross in from a freekick on the left. The initial touch from the Guatemala player is saved by Martinez but the rebound rolls in. The goal has been awarded to Lisandro Martinez.

ARG 0 - 1 GUA

We are underway in the friendly game between Argentina and Guatemala at the FedEx field in Maryland. Argentina sporting the dark blue kit while Guatemala are in its white kit with light blue stripe.

The players make their way out to the middle. Time for the national anthems of both teams. 

Matches: 2

Argentina wins: 2

Guatemala wins: 0

Latest Result: Argentina 3 - 0 Guatemala (2018)

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Emiliano Martinez, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Otamendi, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Giovani Lo Celso, Nahuel Molina, Valentin Carboni, Lautaro Martinez, Lionel Messi (C), Nicolas Gonzalez

Nicholas Hagen, Jose Ardon, Jose Pinto (C), Jose Morales, Nicholas Samayoa, Marco Dominguez, Oscar Castellanos, Jonathan Franco, Oscar Santis, Elmer Cardoza, Rubio Rubin

When and where will the international friendly between Argentina and Guatemala kick-off?

The international friendly between Argentina and Guatemala will kick-off at 5:30 AM IST on Saturday, June 14, at the FedEx Stadium in Maryland.

Where to watch international friendly between Argentina and Guatemala in India?

Unfortunately, there will be no live telecast or live streaming of the match in India. You can follow the match on the Sportstar website.

Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s live updates from the pre-Copa America 2024 friendly between Guatemala and Argentina. Stay Tuned for all live updates and commentary from the game.