On the morning of March 27, Beijing time, a friendly match in international football was played by the Argentine men's football team against the Costa Rica men's football team, which was played in Los Angeles, USA. In the first half, the 37-year-old Keylor Navas made a series of saves, Manfrera broke the deadlock with a follow-up shot, and in the second half, Di Maria equalised from a free-kick, McAllister took the lead and Lautaro doubled the score. In the end, Argentina reversed Costa Rica 3-1 to win 10 consecutive friendly matches, while winning 17 of their last 18 matches.
In order to prepare for the Copa America, Argentina invited El Salvador and Costa Rica to play two friendly matches, the first game has ended, Argentina easily defeated El Salvador 3-0, and now ushered in the second game, the opponent Costa Rica has confirmed to advance to the Copa America, and Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay in Group D.
In the latest world rankings, Argentina is ranked No. 1 and Costa Rica is ranked No. 54, and Argentina is unbeaten in the past eight meetings between the two teams, with seven wins and one draw.
Facing Costa Rica, Argentina made adjustments in the starters, Di Maria, Garnacho, and Alvarez formed a forward trident, Lautaro was substituted, and Enzo, McAllister, and Lo Celso sat in the midfield, Paredes and De Paul were substituted, and the star Messi continued to be absent due to injury.
After the opening, Argentina dominated the ball and attacked very fiercely, but Costa Rica's starting goalkeeper Keylor Navas played bravely and allowed Argentina to shoot many times in vain.
In the 16th minute, Costa Rica made a mistake at the back, Enzo sent a through ball, and Alvarez's shot from a small angle in the penalty area was blocked.
In the 21st minute, Argentina made continuous passes in front, Garnacho's shot from a small angle was saved by goalkeeper Navas, and Lo Celso's follow-up shot was also defused by Navas.
In the 22nd minute, Argentina took a free kick in front, and Otamendi's header was saved by goalkeeper Keylor Navas on the goal line.
In the 30th minute, Di Maria's free kick was directly confiscated by goalkeeper Navas, and there was no threat.
As the game progressed, the Argentine midfield began to be in disarray, which, combined with the average shooting skills up front, was the main reason why it was difficult to knock on the Costa Rican goal.
Just when the Argentine formation was pressing hard, Costa Rica seized a counter-attacking opportunity to score.
In the 34th minute, Costa Rica counter-attacked, Manfrera played to Álvaro Zamora, whose low shot was saved by goalkeeper Walter Benitez, and Manfrera followed up with a follow-up shot into the net to put Argentina 1-0 down.
Statistically, this is the first time Argentina have conceded in the last 10 friendlies, the last time they conceded was a 2-2 draw with Uruguay in November 2019.
At half-time, Argentina went into the break with a goal down. Statistics show that Argentina had 71% possession, completed 12 shots on goal and 6 on target, but did not score a goal, and goalkeeper Keylor Navas made 3 key saves to help Costa Rica keep the goal from conceding.
In the second half, Argentina strengthened its attack and quickly went from behind to overtake.
In the 52nd minute, Di Maria took a free kick and scored a world-class goal to help Argentina equalize 1-1.
According to statistics, Argentina has scored a direct free kick again after 7 years, and the last time was Messi in 2017. Now that Messi is out, Di Maria has undoubtedly become Argentina's attacking thigh.
In the 56th minute, Di Maria took a corner kick, and finally McAllister scored with a header to help Argentina overtake the score with two goals in four minutes.
After taking a 2-1 lead, the whole Argentine team played more and more easily, and Costa Rica did not dare to press the formation even if it was behind.
In the 77th minute, De Paul broke through with the ball and sent a through stopper, and Lautaro stabbed the goal from a small angle to help Argentina expand the score 3-1.
This goal finally allowed Lautaro to finally break a year-and-a-half-long drought of goals for the national team, the last time he scored was Argentina's 3-0 win over Honduras on September 23, 2022, and since then he has failed to score a goal in 15 consecutive games, including six World Cup matches.
Since then, neither side has changed the scoreline, and Argentina completed a 3-1 comeback to win 17 of their last 18 matches, losing only to Uruguay in the World Qualifiers.