Alvarez and Messi help Argentina beat Slovenia 2-0 ***************************************************************** A much-changed Argentina team claimed a 2-0 win over Slovenia in their final World Cup warm-up friendly international. Ricardo Alvarez scored the first and Lionel Messi added the second off the bench as coach Alex Sabella chose to give breaks to a number of his leading stars. Sabella chose not to risk the likes of Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria from the off and the decision did not cost him. Alvarez quickly put Argentina ahead when, in the 11th minute, he scored from the edge of the box. Most were expecting him to pass but he took on the strike and found the net. Maxi Rodriquez then had a chance with a long-ranger, before the same man hit the post. Sabella made changes in the second half and sent on the likes of Messi and, after that, the Barcelona man took control. He put in Di Maria who in turn crossed to Aguero. The Manchester City man flicked a header to Messi and he wrapped things up. We have a great group and team, a World Cup is very tough and we will have to fight a lot for it, Messi said. We arrive with the right age, with most of us playing in the best leagues of Europe for years. Winning it is our target, but it will be very hard. KEY STATS Messi scored his 38th goal for his country. Slovenia managed just two shots on target all game. TALKING POINT Do Argentina rely on their magic front line too much?: Going forward Argentina looked dangerous almost every time but defensively there were some lapses in concentration and sloppy passing which against better sides than Slovenia could mean World Cup heartbreak. MAN OF THE MATCH Javier Mascherano – Sensational today. Picked up a yellow card but was both the deep-lying creative force for his side as well as the midfield enforcer not allowing Slovenia a sniff of good attacking play. Overall excellent performance. PLAYER RATINGS ARGENTINA – Romero 7, Mascherano 9, Fede Fernandez 7, Basanta 7, Rojo 8, Biglia n/a , A. Fernandez 7, Enzo Perez 7, Rodriguez 7, Lavezzi 7, Alvarez 8 Subs - Campagnaro 7, Messi 8, Aguero 8, Di Maria 8, Gago 7. SLOVENIA – Belec 8, Brecko 7, Samardzic 7, Cesar 7, Jokic 7, Kirm 6, Kurtic 6, Stevanovic 6, Rotman 6, Ilicic 6, Novakovic 7. Pecnic 6, Lazarevic 7, Firer 6, Balazic 7, Mertejl 7.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 06:45:10 +0000
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