Lionel Messi fires Argentina past Angola as Bafana Bafana AFCON rivals fall on Independence Day showdown

Lionel Messi was on the scoresheet as Argentina beat Angola 2-0 in an international friendly played at the November Stadium in Talatona on Friday.

Although they conceded the defeat at home, Angola created a number of chances against the world champions but could not utilise them.

Meanwhile, Argentina's goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli was forced to make a big save in the 12th minute to prevent the home side from scoring. Chico Banza collected the ball at the back post and almost scored from a tight spot, but Rulli saved the South Americans from going down.

Messi almost scored in the 19th minute; the Barcelona legend collected a loose ball inside the box and fired a powerful shot, but Angola's goalkeeper, Hugo Marques, was alert and stopped the ball from crossing into the net.

Another chance for Messi came in the 21st minute as the Argentine captain was played through by Lautaro Martinez, but could not beat Marqués again, even though he was largely unmarked.

Angola dispossessed Messi at the halfway line, pressed the South Americans, and created another chance for themselves. Zito Luvumbo made an ambitious run before he attempted to beat Rulli, but the goalkeeper managed to stop the ferociously hit shot in the 28th minute.

Another chance for the Africans came in the 37th minute when To Carneiro latched onto a rebound but failed to find the back of the net as he sent his shot over the bar.

Argentina pressed Angola and in the 39th minute created a big chance, but they wasted it. Thiago Almada made a run down the left flank and spotted Messi, whose first-time shot went above the crossbar.

Finally, the deadlock was broken in the 43rd minute courtesy of a combination between Messi and Lautaro. The former Barcelona star laid the ball on the path of his teammate, who did not make a mistake as he planted the ball into the near post, giving the visitors the lead.

Argentina won a 57th-minute free kick after a foul on Martinez that was delivered by Messi; however, the Albiceleste captain's cross was cleared for a corner.

Eventually, Messi got on the scoresheet late in the second half. As was the case with the first goal, the second one came after a combination between Messi and Lautaro.

Lautaro laid the ball for his captain, who found the back of the net from close range with Marques helpless this time around.

The friendly against Argentina was prepared to give Angola a chance to test themselves against the world giants before the upcoming African Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco.

They are in Group B alongside South Africa, Zimbabwe and Egypt and will open their campaign against Bafana Bafana on December 22. On December 26, they will play Zimbabwe before concluding preliminary duties with a match against the Pharaohs on December 29.

For Argentina, their focus is on their World Cup title defence next year. The defending champions qualified for the finals that will be co-hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada next year after finishing top with 38 points from 18 games.

On the other hand, Angola, who were among the teams that played in the 2006 finals in Germany, will not participate in the next global bonanza after finishing fourth in Group D of African qualifying. This means they will have to wait for the 2030 qualifiers to attempt to reach the showpiece again.