Argentina 2-0 Honduras: Martinez and Simeone on target with Messi benched

Lautaro Martinez and Giuliano Simeone were both on target as Argentina brushed aside Honduras in their penultimate friendly ahead of the World Cup.

The Albiceleste, who left captain Lionel Messi on the bench as he continues his recovery from muscle fatigue, scored in either half to secure the victory.

Argentina took a while to find their rhythm at Kyle Field, though Simeone and Martinez both tested Edrick Menjivar within the opening 11 minutes.

Giovani Lo Celso then curled a long-range effort against the corner of the goal frame before Cristopher Melendez fouled Nicolas Tagliafico inside the box, giving Argentina the perfect chance to open the scoring.

And Martinez took it with a coolly taken spot-kick, firing his shot into the bottom-left corner, squeezing it past Menjivar, who dived the right way, in the 37th minute.

Argentina continued to push, having a host of good chances on either side of half-time, before Simeone doubled their lead 54 minutes in. He raced onto Martinez's pullback and quickly rearranged his feet to drill his low strike in.

Following the second goal, with the win secured, Lionel Scaloni made a host of changes, not including Messi, and they could not find a third to add to their tally.

Argentina show their attacking threat without their talisman

Scaloni has already said he expects Messi to be back in line to start for Argentina for their World Cup opener against Algeria on June 16, but even without him, they still pose a threat.

Simeone in particular showed his threat both in front of goal and as a creative force behind the other attacking players.

He had a joint-game-high four shots (level with Lo Celso), with three of those on target, while only Martinez (11) had more touches in the opposition box than his eight. He also created five chances, another game-high.

Overall, Argentina racked up 20 shots worth 2.28 expected goals (xG), with eight of those hitting the target. At the other end, Honduras failed to test Juan Musso with any of their four attempts, with the defence holding strong, though they know bigger tests will surely come in the next month.