Spain 6 Argentina 1Spain sent out a warning to their World Cup rivals as Isco grabbed a hat-trick in a 6-1 thrashing of Argentina, who were missing the injured Lionel Messi, in a friendly on Tuesday. Diego Costa, Thiago and Iago Aspas also got on the scoresheet as the 2010 world champions humiliated a hapless Argentina team who struggled without their talisman Messi. Romero’s replacement, Chelsea back-up Willy Caballero, had a nightmare, giving the ball away with his first touch as Isco gleefully swept home Spain’s second in the 27th. Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi briefly offered the visitors hope as he nodded the ball in before the break. After the restart, however, it was again all Spain with Argentina’s haphazard goalkeeping and defending ruthlessly exposed as Isco (twice), Thiago and Aspas completed the rout.

Source: The Irish Times March 27, 2018 21:33 UTC