Iraq posed problems at times, but goals from Martinez, Pereyra, Pezzella, and Cervi were more than enough to see Argentina through on the day.
Match Events
18' GOAL! Argentina 1-0 Iraq (Lautaro Martinez)
GOAALLLL!!! Acuna curled a ball into the box from the left wing and Martinez rose above his defender, stretched his neck, and headed the ball above a diving Hassan for the goal. That's Martinez' first goal for the Albiceleste! Iraq 0-1 Argentina.
53' GOAL! Argentina 2-0 Iraq (Pereyra)
GOOALLL!!! Roberto Pereyra collected the ball in from Dybala, turned his marker, and curled in a great strike into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal! Mhawi really should have done better in closing the Watford man down, but take nothing away from the strike! Iraq 0-2 Argentina.
82' GOAL! Argentina 3-0 Iraq (Pezzella)
GOOALLLL!!! From the corner, Salvio rose above his defender and headed it to the back post where Pezzella powered it home! Two of Argentina's three goals tonight have now come via headers. Iraq 0-3 Argentina.
91' GOAL! Argentina 4-0 Iraq (Cervi)
GOOALLLL!!! Cervi goes on a great solo run, dodging and beating defenders left and right before coolly slotting his left-footed shot into the bottom left corner! Iraq 0-4 Argentina.
Match Report
Argentina took control early on and when Marcos Acuna crossed from the left after 18 minutes, Martinez nipped in ahead of his marker to apply a clinical near-post header, sending the ball high into the net.
Less than 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute, Pereyra received a short pass from Dybala inside the Iraq penalty area and had time to take aim before hooking the ball into the corner of the net.
Dybala almost got the reward his performance deserved when substitute Giovanni Simeone teed him up for a curling shot that drew a one-handed diving save from Jalal Hassan.
Eduardo Salvio's flick-on from a corner found Pezzella at the far post in the 82nd minute and the defender made amends for his earlier miss, heading the ball high into the net to make it 3-0.
Benfica winger Cervi added Argentina's fourth and his first for his country when his jinking 30-yard run showed shades of Messi before he slammed a left-footed finish into the far corner of the net with practically the last kick of the game.
Line-ups
Argentina XI: Sergio Romero, F.Vázquez, R.F Mori, L. Paredes, Pezzella, M. Acuña, P. Dybala, M. Meza, De Paul, F. Bustos, Lautaro Martínez
Subs: E. Salvio, R.Pereyra, W. Kannemann, G. Rulli, G. Herrera, Correa, R. Saravia, G.Simeone, F. Cervi, G. Lo Celso, Ascacibar, J.Foyth
Iraq XI: Ahmed Yasin, Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Qafaje, Justin Meram, Osama Rashid, Jalal Hassan Hachim, Ali Faez Atiyah, Mustafa Nadhim, Adnan, Bashar Resan, Alaa Ali Mhawi, Amjad Attwan
Subs: Rebin Sulaka Adhamat, Mohammed Hameed, Hussein Ali, Mahdi Kamil, Fahad Talib, Mazin Fayyadh, Hussam Kadhem Jaber, Safaa Hadi, Mustafa Mohammad Jaber, Muhanad Ali, Mohammad Dawood, Raad Faner
Saro91
274
Expected more from Dybala to be honest... if anyone wants to fill leonels boots it's him and it's time like these that gives opportunities to prove himself to the country but he made quite a few mistakes... I do accept the fact it's a friendly but still.... And whoaaaa.... wat a run from Cervi[Cheer][Cheer][Cheer][Cheer]
whattheTiger
182
to be honest i expected more from dybala he is second messi for argentina
10MESSILIONEL
144
The real test will be against Brazil.....Anyway great performance...GO Argentina...Show the world that you can cope without messi
SHREEGANESH
109
I am actually happy that new manager isn't just putting all the attackers in starting 11, he is actually putting midfielders in team which never happened before and one og biggest reason why argentina failed to win anything. Without a solid midfield, how canthey create more chances dominate the game. Mascerano was the only one in midfield but 1 man midfield wont be as affective as 3 or 4 man midfield. I wish he understands this and starts attackers only in attacking position not midfield position.
Realplayere
102
Lautaro Martinez: 29/09: first goal for Inter ⚫️🔵 11/10: first international goal for Argentina 🇦🇷 Crack.
eloro
89
I know some losers will start saying that messi turn made Argentina lower.[doggreen]. But they survived today because Iraq is a no body when it comes to national team. Their % rating is no where compared to It happen to some stringvteam at the world cup. Ao the soldier still remains[doggreen] A GOAT🐐[cup][cup][cup][cup][cup]