The Argentine men’s national football team ran rampant on Tuesday night against its Puerto Rico counterpart, a comfortable 6-0 win that will surely boost the Albiceleste’s confidence. But in a match that was largely discussed in terms of giving new players their time under the sun, the starting lineup featured mainly familiar faces. 

With defender Lautaro Rivero, midfielder Nicolás Paz, and even Racing Club goalkeeper Facundo Cambeses in the squad, head coach Lionel Scaloni opted to start veterans like Nicolás Otamendi, Rodrigo de Paul, or Emiliano Martínez. Only former Lanús striker José López started among those who were expected to make their debut with the national team.

Argentina controlled the pace of the game from the start, with Puerto Rico dependent on some flash of inspiration or a lapse in the Argentine’s concentration to generate any chances. Just 14 minutes in, Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoreboard with a header.

In the 23rd minute, Lionel Messi chipped the ball over the defense, for Gonzalo Montiel to volley home the 2-0. It was a special move for the Inter Miami man, who’s now surpassed Neymar and Landon Donovan to become the all-time assists leader in national team football with 59. Seven minutes later, MacAllister scored again to wrap up the first half by 3-0 up.

The second half began much in the same vein, with Rivero and former Racing midfielder Aníbal Moreno making their debuts. Cambeses did so with just 15 minutes remaining in the clock, subbing in for Martínez.

In the 64th minute, Boricua defender Steven Echevarría turned the ball into his own net to make it 4-0. Lautaro Martínez, who came in for López in the 64th minute, extended the lead twice in the last 10 minutes, to end the game with a resounding 6-0 win.

“These matches give us the chance to see new players,” said Scaloni after the match. “Playing with this shirt is always important and they won’t forget about it.”

The head coach admitted that the likes of Moreno, López and Cambeses will have to “keep performing at that level” to have any chances of making the Argentina 2026 World Cup team.

However, some fans questioned whether the games in this international friendlies window wasn’t an opportunity for more players on the fringes of the national team to get the nod. 

What’s the point of these friendlies?

While the ongoing U-20 World Cup reduced Scaloni’s options in terms of young players available, fans highlighted the absence of the likes of AS Roma’s Matías Soulé, Strasbourg’s Valentín Barco or Porto’s Alan Varela.

Argentina extended its run of wins in international friendlies to 14 with this result. However, going through the opposition names reveals limited competition against top teams. Out of the 14 wins, only three came against teams that qualified for the 2022 World Cup, namely Australia, Costa Rica and Ecuador, while many came against minnows such as Curaçao and Indonesia.

With an upcoming game against Angola in November, it seems unlikely we’ll see the Albiceleste truly tested before the end of the year.