It might not have been a competitive match, but there was nothing remotely friendly about what Spain did to Argentina in Madrid on Tuesday evening.
Real Madrid’s Isco scored a hat-trick as the 2010 world champions ran out 6-1 winners in the Wanda Metropolitano, with Diego Costa, Thiago Alcantara and Iago Aspas scoring their other goals.
Argentina were 2-0 down early in the game only for Nicolas Otamendi to halve the deficit shortly before half-time. With the game seemingly delicately poised at the beginning of the second half, Spain blew the beaten 2014 finalists away with four second half goals without reply.
An injured Lionel Messi was powerless to prevent the hammering, spending the game – or most of it, at least – watching on from the stands.
Shortly after Spain’s final goal, the Barcelona star was seen leaving his seat. Although it’s not clear if he returned prior to full-time, plenty watching interpreted this as Messi deciding he’d seen enough and making an early exit.
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Argentina were beaten by Mario Gotze’s extra time goal in the 2014 final. They will face Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria in the group stages in Russia later this year.
As for Spain, this result serves as a reminder that they’re well placed to go far in the tournament, as they bid to win back the trophy they lost in Brazil four years ago.
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