No Messi, no magic: Argentina fall to Uruguay

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Argentina began life without Lionel Messi on a disappointing note, suffering a 2-1 defeat to Uruguay in an international friendly on Saturday.

The world champions were unable to turn their first-half opportunities into goals before two costly moments early in the second half handed Uruguay control of the encounter.

The match remained goalless at half-time, with Argentina creating promising chances but failing to find a breakthrough.

Julian Alvarez came close in the eighth minute, forcing a crucial save from Uruguay goalkeeper Cristopher Fiermarin, while Thiago Almada also saw an effort cleared off the goal line.

Argentina paid for those missed opportunities three minutes after the restart when defender Leonardo Balerdi inadvertently headed a free kick into his own net to give Uruguay the lead in the 48th minute.

Uruguay doubled their advantage five minutes later as Maximiliano Araujo rose to head home a corner delivered by Giorgian de Arrascaeta.

The two-goal deficit left Argentina with a difficult task, but Lionel Scaloni’s men responded with increased attacking urgency.

Their efforts paid off in the 73rd minute when Gianluca Prestianni set up Alvarez, who finished first time from inside the penalty area to reduce the deficit to 2-1.

Argentina pressed for an equaliser in the closing stages, with Nicolas Paz, Leonardo Balerdi and Alvarez among those involved in attempts to rescue the result.

However, Uruguay goalkeeper Fiermarin and his defence held firm, denying Argentina a late leveller as the referee brought the contest to an end after six minutes of added time.

The defeat marked a difficult outing for Argentina in their first match following Messi’s retirement, while Uruguay secured a notable victory through their second-half response.