At 7:30 a.m. Beijing time on March 24, World Cup champions Argentina played a friendly match against Panama at the Monument Stadium, which was the first match of Samsung Argentina. In the first half, Messi's free kick hit the post, and Enzo's long-range shot was quite threatening; In the second half, Messi's free-kick hit the post again, Almada added the goal, and Messi scored his 800th career goal from a free kick in the 90th minute. In the end, Argentina beat Panama 2-0.
The match was Argentina's first game since winning the World Cup, with Messi leading the starting line-up after announcing his retirement from the national team Di Maria returning to the starting line-up. Before the start of the game, the Argentine team and their families were photographed on the ball.
In the third minute, Messi broke through several people with the ball and came to the box with a low left-footed shot that was picked up by the goalkeeper. In the 15th minute, Messi dribbled the ball and was caught by three Panamanian players, two players in front and behind him flew together, Messi was kicked to the ground, his knee was injured and bleeding, a skirmish broke out between the two teams, and the player who fouled was given a yellow card.
Argentina won a free kick on the right side of the front, Messi took a direct shot and the ball bounced around the human wall and bounced back into the post.
In the 27th minute, Di Maria had too much power in front of the goal, and Messi did not follow. Two minutes later, Di Maria played a long-range shot up front and the ball went into the stands.
In the 37th minute, Messi broke through to the left side of the box with the ball, and his low left-footed shot was blocked by the defender. Argentina then blocked the pass in front, De Paul won a right-footed long-range shot that was blocked by the defender. In the 40th minute, DePaul went straight up front, McAllister cut in a slightly slower step, and the ball was cleared by the goalkeeper.
In the 43rd minute, Messi dribbled the ball into the right side of the box, dunked the defender and fired a left-footed shot that deflected. One minute later, Messi dribbled the ball into the box, faced a multi-person clip and returned the pass, followed by Enzo bombarded the goal, and the Panamanian goalkeeper flew to save the ball. At the end of the first half, the two teams temporarily drew 0-0.
In the 47th minute, Argentina led the ball from the right side of the front to the middle, Almada broke through with the ball and fired a long-range shot that flew into the stands. In the 50th minute, Argentina won a corner kick from the right side, Messi headed straight into the back corner of the goal, and the Panamanian goalkeeper single-handedly played the ball.
In the 52nd minute, Enzo won a free kick with a fierce tackle from the top of the arc. Messi fired a left-footed shot and the Panamanian goalkeeper saved the ball sideways.
In the 55th minute, Di Maria dribbled the ball in front and was thrown down by two Panamanian players to secure a free kick for Argentina. Messi headed straight at goal, and the goalkeeper once again lifted the ball off the crossbar.
In the 60th minute, Argentina made a substitution, with Dybala replacing Di Maria and Paredes replacing Enzo. In the 65th minute, Almada sent a straight shot in front of the field, and Messi cut forward into the box and was blocked by the opposing defender and tripped up.
In the 73rd minute, Argentina passed the ball into the box, Dybala received the ball and was tripped by the opposing defender, the referee signaled that it was not a penalty, and the Argentine player was quite unhappy with the decision.
In the 78th minute, Argentina won a free kick in the middle of the penalty area, Messi took a direct shot, the ball bounced around the wall and bounced back, and Almada on the left side of the box shot into the net, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead over Panama.
In the 90th minute, Argentina again had a free kick opportunity in front, Messi took a direct shot from the goal, and the ball flew around the human wall into a dead corner, giving Argentina a 2-0 lead over Panama. The goal was the 800th of Messi's career.
In the end, the match was over, and Argentina beat Panama 2-0.