Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez scored twice as Argentina beat Guatemala 4-1 in the final Copa América friendly in Maryland.
Argentina were given an early scare when a fourth-minute own goal from Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez put Guatemala ahead – their first goal against the reigning World Cup and Copa América champions.
But Messi equalized eight minutes later when goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen deflected the ball straight into his path and the Argentine captain tapped into an empty net.
Lautaro Martinez, who finished as Serie A’s top scorer last season, put Argentina ahead with a 39th-minute penalty and the Inter Milan star scored his second from Messi’s pass after the break.
“We are aiming for the title, we are fighting for everything,” he told TyC Sports.
“We said this when the Copa América ended in 2021 and when the World Cup ended, we will try to prepare to start the Copa América in the best possible way and we hope it will be nothing but joy.”
Messi scored the second in the 77th minute after an excellent pass from substitute Angel di Maria.
The tournament takes place in the United States from June 20 to July 14, with Lionel Scaloni’s team starting their campaign against Canada on Thursday, before group stage games against Chile and Peru.
“We will continue trying to do our best, we still want to continue winning titles,” Messi added.
“It’s going to be increasingly difficult, the games are increasingly difficult, winning [the Copa] It’s difficult again, but we’ll try again.”
