Angola v Argentina: Messi sees off three ex-Sporting men amid police drama | OneFootball

Argentina defeated Angola 2-0 in a friendly match, which saw disturbances between fans and police before the kickoff and during the game. Lionel Messi scored one of the goals that helped defeat the African team, which had Gelson Dala, a former Sporting player, in the starting lineup, with Pedro Bondo and Ary Papel on the bench.

The match started, as expected, with the current world champions dominating possession. However, the Angolans tried their luck on counterattacks. The score was opened only at the 43rd minute by Lautaro Martínez.

In the second half, the situation was similar. Despite Argentina having more of the ball, the Angolan team tried to hurt the opponent with quick advances, forcing Geronimo Rulli to make a couple of saves to prevent a draw.

Gelson Dala was substituted at 67', and Lionel Messi, who had already assisted Lautaro, ended up scoring the 2-0 at 82', after receiving the ball from the Inter forward. Ary Papel came on at the 86th minute, and Pedro Bondo was the only former Sporting player not used.

It's worth remembering that Angola is out of the 2026 World Cup, after finishing fourth in group D of the African qualifiers, with 12 points. Cape Verde qualified directly with 23, and Cameroon will go to the play-off with 19.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.