Argentina v Estonia Live Commentary & Result, 05/06/2022, Friendlies

That's all for today, goodbye!

Argentina's unbeaten run continues, and it's now 33 games on the bounce without a loss for them. Estonia's attention now turns back to their Nations League campaign, when they face Malta.

Messi was star of the show as Argentina beat Estonia 5-0. The captain got the first of his five goals in the eighth minute from the penalty spot after Igonen took out Pezzella. He doubled Argentina's lead on the stroke of half-time, rifling his effort over the keeper from a tight angle. The hat-trick was sealed just two minutes into the second half when he turned in from close range. Goal number four was a clever bit of individual play, before he finished it off in the 76th minute after a number of his team-mates' shots were blocked.

90' + 2' FULL-TIME: ARGENTINA 5-0 ESTONIA.

90' + 1' Messi steps up to take the free-kick and he's aiming for the far top corner. He curls it around the wall, but there's not enough whip on it and it flies into the stands.

89' Messi spins away from Soomets and Kirss before touching it through for Dybala. He's through on goal if he gets past Mets, but the defender tugs him back and Argentina have a free-kick just outside the box.

87' GOOD SAVE! Gomez makes a driving run down the right and none of the Estonia defenders get across to him. He cuts inside before trying to catch out Igonen with a low shot at his near post, but the keeper pushes it away.

85' Alvarez switches it out to Gonzalez on the left and he has time to take a touch before drilling a cross into the middle. Mets' touch helps it to Dybala, but the defender stretches to divert his shot over the bar.

R. Kirss

E. Sorga

83' Final change for Estonia now as Kirss is brought on for Sorga.

82' Kallaste cuts Argentina's midfield open with a throughball into Sinyavskiy on the edge of the box, and he takes the shot early with Pezzella closing him down. The defender makes the block though and Argentina break on the counter.

80' Argentina push forward again and Montiel swings another good cross into the box. Alvarez made a run to the near post, and it's too high for him, but there's no one coming in behind him.

78' The space just seems to open up for Palacios through the middle, but instead of taking a shot from the edge of the D, he tries to lay it off to Messi. Paskotsi is scrambling, but he manages to poke it away just in time.

L. Messi

Goal

76' MESSI AGAIN! Incredible! Argentina have five and Messi has scored all of them! Messi's cross into Gonzalez starts it all off, as Igonen smothers his first-time shot. It rebounds out to Alvarez, who sees his shot blocked, as does Dybala. Eventually, it falls to Messi, and he makes no mistake by rolling it over the line. 5-0!

G. Montiel

N. Molina

74' And Molina is also taken off, with Montiel on for him.

N. González

M. Acuña

73' Final changes for Argentina now, and Acuna is the first to go off, with Gonzalez on for him.

L. Messi

Goal

71' MESSI SCORES AGAIN! A lot of the players stopped after Gomez was clattered into, but the referee allowed play to continue as Messi ran onto the loose ball. He dribbled away from Mets and span away from Igonen when the keeper slid in before coolly slotting into the back of the empty net. 4-0 Argentina!

K. Kallaste

A. Pikk

69' Estonia are making another change now, and it's Pikk that's going off for Kallaste.

68' Messi makes another good run through midfield before touching it into Dybala. He has his back to goal, so tries to pass it back to Messi, but Sinyavskiy slides in to cut it out.

J. Foyth

A. Mac Allister

66' Fourth change for Argentina now and it's Foyth that's coming on for Mac Allister.

65' None of the Estonia defenders are picking up Messi again and he slides a dangerous throughball into the box. Gomez is chasing it, but Igonen just gets there first as he slides in to push it away from the midfielder.

M. Kuusk

H. Pürg

63' And Kuusk is the other player coming on as he replaces Purg.

V. Sinyavskiy

M. Käit

63' Sinyavskiy is on in place of Kait.

K. Vassiljev

M. Miller

63' Estonia are making a triple change of their own now. Vassiljev is coming on for Miller.

P. Dybala

J. Correa

62' And Correa is the last to go off, with Dybala replacing him.

E. Palacios

R. De Paul

62' De Paul is also taken off, with Palacios on in his place.

M. Senesi

L. Martínez

62' There's a triple change for Argentina here, with Martinez the first to make way for Senesi.

61' It's better from Estonia here as they knock it around comfortably in Argentina's half. Teniste squeezes a throughball down the right of the box for Kait, who takes the shot first time, but he fires it high over the bar.

59' SAVE! A quick break from Argentina sees Gomez surge through the middle of the pitch before squaring it to Alvarez in the middle of the box. He hits the shot first time, but it's straight at Igonen.

57' Argentina are still pushing for a fourth goal here and De Paul makes a great run through the middle. He threads it through for Alvarez, but he wasn't expecting it and it rolls harmlessly out of play.

55' Estonia just can't get out of their own half at the moment as Kait slices another clearance straight at Mac Allister. He tries to pick out De Paul's run down the right but overhits the throughball.

53' CLOSE! Messi has three Estonia defenders around him in the D, but he spins away from them before squaring it to De Paul on the right of the box. He fizzes a low shot across goal and it rolls just wide of the far post.

51' GOOD SAVE! Alvarez does really well to hold off Purg as he pushes his way into the box and he manages to create just enough space for a shot from a tight angle. Igonen rushes off his line to smother it at the near post.

49' Straight from the restart, Estonia try to get themselves back into this game. Teniste nods the ball across goal to Purg, but he can only direct his header straight into Armani's gloves.

N. Molina

Assist

47' It was a great layoff to Molina and he didn't have to break his stride as he swung a first-time cross into the middle for Messi.

L. Messi

Goal

47' HAT-TRICK! Messi has his third of the game! Argentina came out of the blocks quickly after the break and they worked it nicely through the space on the edge of the box. It's out to Molina on the right and he swings it into the box. Messi steps in front of Paskotsi and helps to turn it past Igonen. 3-0 Argentina!

46' Estonia get us back under way for the second half!

H. Anier

S. Zenjov

46' There's a change for Estonia at the start of the second half. Zenjov is taken off and replaced by Anier.

Scaloni will be pleased with his side's performance in that first half; they dominated possession and created some good chances when they worked their way through. For the most part, Estonia have stayed compact and had a couple of breaks on the counter, and Haberli will be hoping for more of the same.

Argentina lead Estonia 2-0 at half-time thanks to two goals from Messi. The first came from the spot just eight minutes in after the keeper slid into Pezzella and Messi fired it into the right bottom corner. Mac Allister, Messi and Molina all had chances after that before the captain rifled in a second from a tight angle just before the break to double their lead.

45' + 2' HALF-TIME: ARGENTINA 2-0 ESTONIA.

A. Gómez

Assist

45' The Estonia defenders are slow to get out to Gomez and he has time to look up and pick out the pass to Messi.

L. Messi

Goal

45' MESSI SCORES AGAIN! Gomez gets his head up on the edge of the box and spots Messi's run around the outside of the defence down the right of the box. He rounds Correa, who was offside, before latching onto it and rifling his shot over Igonen and into the far top corner. 2-0 Argentina!

44' Messi spins out of trouble again and lifts a great ball over the top to Acuna. He's onside this time and he nods it back across goal, but none of his team-mates are at the far post to get on the end of it.

42' Argentina have had 85 per cent of the possession in this first half, and they're not letting go of it any time soon. Messi lifts another good ball over the top of Estonia defence and Acuna brings it down on his chest before volleying over, but he was just offside.

40' BLOCK! Another corner for Argentina and this one is taken short as well. It's worked to Molina, who isn't being picked up just outside the box. He drills a powerful, low shot across goal, and it takes a couple of deflections on its way through.

38' MESSI! He cuts inside from the right again, playing a one-two with Correa on the edge of the box to open up a pocket of space. He takes the shot first time when it comes back to him, but he curls it wide of the far post.

37' GREAT CHANCE! It comes to Messi quickly on the edge of the D, but he quickly helps it onto Correa ahead of him. He's one-on-one with Igonen, but blazes over the bar in his hurry to get a shot away. The offside flag spares his blushes though.

35' Martinez plays a hopeful long ball down the left and although Alvarez can't reach it, he does everything he can to stop Teniste from reaching it. Correa does get there, but a heavy first touch takes it away from him in the box.

33' Estonia are dropping even deeper in their own half as they continue to block off the space in front of Argentina. They're happy to just sit back and let them keep possession.

31' Messi skips away from Miller with a lovely bit of skill and tries to float it into the far post for Correa. Mets spots the danger though and steps in front of him to clear.

29' Argentina win a free-kick through the middle and Messi takes it short to Gomez on the left. He curls a good cross into the far post, and Alvarez turns it towards goal first time, but it's a comfortable one for Igonen.

27' Armani is called into action as Kait slides a great throughball into the box for Sorga to chase. The keeper is alert and spots the danger, and rushes off his line to take it off his toe just in time.

25' The corner is taken short by De Paul, and Argentina work it out to the left. Alvarez dummies a pass out to Acuna on the wing, and after wrongfooting Miller, he curls a shot on goal, but it's straight down the middle.

23' Still, Argentina are dominating possession, but it's all in front of Estonia. They're trying to pass it through the middle instead of going out wide, but it's too compact in midfield.

21' Molina takes out Pikk this time and Estonia win another free-kick on the left. Instead of swinging it into the box, they work it backwards, and Argentina quickly win it back.

19' There's a problem with the ball, so after a quick switch, Argentina pick up where they left off in possession. They're passing it around to try and open up Estonia, without much luck at the moment.

17' Estonia take a free-kick short to Purg in their own half, and he almost plays himself into trouble after a heavy first touch. He manages to spin away from De Paul before hitting his throughball straight at Gomez.

15' CHANCE! Acuna runs into space down the left again before whipping in a cross, which Soomets sticks out a leg to clear. He gets it as far as Mac Allister on the edge of the D, and he curls a shot towards the far post, but it's wide.

14' It's better from Estonia now as Teniste cuts out Pezzella's clearance before knocking it out to Purg who wins a free-kick on the left. It's switched out to Kait on the opposite flank, but his first touch goes straight to Acuna.

12' Estonia just can't get a touch on the ball at the moment as Argentina continue to keep them penned in. When he wins it back, Igonen tries to go long upfield, but he can only pick out Martinez.

10' Argentina work it quickly upfield again, with Messi linking up well with Mac Allister down the right before playing a one-two with Correa as he cuts inside. He hits the shot first time from the edge of the box, but it's blocked by Mets.

L. Messi

Penalty Goal

8' MESSI SCORES! It's a good spot-kick from the captain as he strikes it down the right of the goal. Igonen is completely static on his line and can only watch as he fires it into the bottom corner. 1-0 Argentina!

7' PENALTY TO ARGENTINA! Pezzella is running onto a throughball down the right of the box and Igonen slides forward to try and get there first. He takes out the defender in the process though and the referee points straight to the spot.

6' Messi's free-kick is blocked by the wall, and he goes out to take the resulting corner. Igonen flaps at it, but Estonia just about manage to clear their lines.

4' Gomez slides a throughball down the left of the box for Correa, and he fizzes a dangerous throughball across the face of goal. Alvarez is running onto it, but Soomets slides in with a vital interception just ahead of him.

2' Argentina are enjoying all of the early possession here, with Estonia happy to sit back and allow them to keep it in front of them. It's switched out to Acuna on the left, but his pullback is cut out by Paskotsi.

1' Messi gets the game under way for Argentina!

The teams are out on the pitch, the national anthems have been sung, and kick-off is just moments away!

This is the first meeting between Argentina and Estonia in any competition.

Thomas Haberi makes seven changes from the win over San Marino in their last game. Igonen starts in goal, with Paskotsi, Soomets, Pikk, Teniste, Purg and Miller also coming into the side.

Lionel Scaloni makes eight changes to the side that started against Italy last time out, with only Molina, De Paul and Messi retaining their places. Correa and Alvarez make up the front line alongside their captain.

ESTONIA SUBS: Vladislav Kreida, Sander Puri, Karl Hein, Konstantin Vassiljev, Robert Kirss, Ken Kallaste, Marten Kuusk, Henri Anier, Marco Lukka, Vlasiy Sinyavskiy, Markus Poom, Karl Vallner.

ESTONIA STARTING XI (3-5-2): Matvei Igonen; Maksim Paskotsi, Markus Soomets, Karol Mets; Sergei Zenjov, Artur Pikk, Taijo Teniste, Mattias Kait, Henrik Purg; Martin Miller, Erik Sorga.

ARGENTINA SUBS: Geronimo Rulli, Juan Musso, Juan Foyth, Nicolas Tagliafico, Gonzalo Montiel, Angel Di Maria, Exequiel Palacios, Nicolas Gonzalez, Guido Rodriguez, Giovani Lo Celso, Paulo Dybala, Marcos Sensi.

ARGENTINA STARTING XI (4-3-3): Franco Armani; Nahuel Molina, German Pezzella, Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuna; Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo De Paul, Papu Gomez; Lionel Messi Julian Alvarez, Joaquin Correa.

Argentina's last match finished with them lifting a trophy after seeing off Italy 3-0 in the UEFA-CONMEBOL Finalissima on Wednesday. It's been nearly three years since they last lost a game in any competition, and they're looking to carry this run on as they step up their preparations for the World Cup in November and December. Estonia come into this game on the back of a win, beating San Marino 2-0 in their opening Nations League game of the campaign. That victory ended a five-game winless run in all competitions (D1 L4).

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the international friendly between Argentina and Estonia at El Sadar!

Argentina v Estonia Live Commentary, 06/06/2022

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