Argentina comfortably defeated Angola 2-0 at the 11 de Noviembre stadium in Luanda in a friendly match to mark the 50th anniversary of the African country's independence. Covered by the Argentine News Agency, the goalscorers were Lautaro Martínez in the 43rd minute of the first half and Lionel Messi in the 36th minute of the second. The Angolan team put up a fight but could not match the hierarchy of the Argentine team. In a first half that was rather discreet, Gerónimo Rulli had work to do in the Argentine goal as he saved three balls that could have resulted in a partial win for Angola, while Lionel Scaloni's team had two shots from Lionel Messi, one of which was well saved by goalkeeper Hugo Marques. However, in the 43rd minute, Messi provided a masterful assist to Lautaro Martínez, who advanced a few meters and crossed in an unstoppable shot for goalkeeper Marques, putting Argentina 1-0 up. In the second half, Argentina started the match better, with more ball control and composure in their play, and they did not face any scares from the home team that would have required extra work from Rulli as in the first half. Towards the end of the match, Messi recovered a series of rebounds in the area and with a strong, cross-shot put the score at 2-0 in the 36th minute of the second half to seal a solid victory in the team's last match of the year.
