Argentina vs Panama score, result, goals, highlights as Messi nets No. 800 in World Cup celebration match

Simon Borg

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Argentina vs Panama score, result, goals, highlights as Messi nets No. 800 in World Cup celebration match image

Argentina's first match on home soil after their 2022 World Cup triumph also ended in victory with two late goals over Panama that left the capacity crowd of the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires with smiles on their faces.

Panama didn't make it easy on the Albiceleste, but Thiago Almada eventually got the breakthrough goal for the home side with 10 minutes left, cleaning up a play that began with a Lionel Messi free kick that struck the left post.

And then Messi would go on to score his 800th career goal as a professional, finally putting home a pinpoint free kick after striking the post twice on set pieces during the match.

It wasn't looking too promising for Argentina as the group of Panama reserve players courageously held the defending World Cup champions scoreless, thanks in part to strong defending and timely saves by goalkeeper Jose Guerra.

But the class of Argentina's players eventually won out, with second-half substitute Almada continuing his strong form shown for his club side Atlanta United, and Messi transforming himself once again in an Argentina shirt.

There were celebrations and musical acts before the match, and the party continued after the final whistle, next moving to Santiago del Estero for what is expected to be another day of festivities on Tuesday against 86th-ranked Curacao.

Argentina vs Panama final score

  1H 2H Score
Argentina 0 2 2
Panama 0 0 0

Goals:
ARG — Thiago Almada — 79th min.
ARG — Lionel Messi — 89th min.

Lineups:

Argentina (4-3-3, right to left): 23-E. Martinez (GK) — 26-Molina, 13-Romero, 19-Otamendi (25-Li. Martinez, 46'), 3-Tagliafico (8-Acuna, 66') — 20-Mac Allister (16-Almada, 46'), 24-E. Fernandez (5-Paredes, 61'), 7-De Paul — 10-Messi, 9-J. Alvarez (22-La. Martinez, 46'), 11-Di Maria (21-Dybala, 61').

Panama (5-4-1, right to left): 12-Guerra (GK) — 2-I. Anderson, 13-Ramos, 4-Farina (14-Hernandez, 65'), 5-Peralta, 3-Galvan (16-Casazola, 70') — 19-Cordoba (20-Browne, 46'), 6-Gudino (8-Moran, 65'), 11-Murillo (10-Camargo, 77'), 17-'Cliquiti' Quintero (18-Medina, 46') — 9-Stephens

Argentina vs Panama goals, highlights, commentary

The celebrations are continuing well after the match with each player getting a replica World Cup and Lionel Messi and Lionel Scaloni addressing the capacity crowd.

Final: Argentina 2-0 Panama

89th min.: Goal Argentina! Messi gets No. 800! It's another free kick attempt and this time he gets it into the top right corner.

79th min.: Goal Argentina! It's the sub Thiago Almada who scores it and he gets his first in an Argentina jersey! Lionel Messi's free kick strikes another off the post and after Leandro Paredes whiffs, Almada puts it home from a tight angle.

77th min.: SUB Panama. It turns out the visitors had one more with Camargo coming on for Murillo. And the Argentines are getting antsy and are pushing Murillo off the field. It would be embarrassing for this to end 0-0.

73rd min.: Argentina penalty? Paulo Dybala went down in the box, but the Uruguayan referee Christian Ferreyra doesn't point to the spot. There was nothing illegal about that play. Good and courageous call from the referee.

67th min.: SUBS. Both teams have exhausted all six subs with 20 minutes remaining. It'll give the teams time to build up some rhythm, because it's been a choppy second half.

62nd min.: YELLOW card Panama. This time it's centre-back Edgardo Farina for a foul on Lautaro Martinez outside the box. Another free kick for Argentina but nothing comes of it.

61st min.: SUBS Argentina. Two more subs for the Albiceleste with Paulo Dybala (for Di Maria) and Leandro Paredes in midfield (for Enzo Fernandez). The world champs haven't gotten a spark from any of the subs so far.

A reminder there are only six clubs per side in this match.

59th min.: It's the Jose Guerra show to start the second half. He dives to stop a curling Angel Di Maria effort. And that's Di Maria's last attempt as he's about to come off.

57th min.: Panama goalkeeper Jose Guerra stops Messi again! It's a third free kick from a central location and Messi gets it on goal but Guerra tips over the bar.

52nd min.: Chance Argentina! On a Lionel Messi free kick Jose Guerra parries it away. That was an easier save than he made it look.

46th min.: SUBS. Fresh faces for Argentina. Lautaro Martinez (for Julian Alvarez), Lisandro Martinez in the back (for Nicolas Otamendi) and Thiago Almada as predicted (for Alexis Mac Allister).

For Panama, it's Omar Browne (for Cristian Quintero) and Victor Medina (for Ronaldo Cordoba) in the match.

Halftime: Argentina 0-0 Panama

Halftime: So much for a tennis score! Against a second team from Panama, the World Cup champions can't find a breakthrough. The young Panamanians are playing without intimidation and plenty of personality.

The wild two-footed tackle on Lionel Messi set the tone for the visitors early in the match. And that play also resulted in the first of two great looks Argentina had, as Lionel Messi struck the post on the free kick. Enzo Fernandez had the other solid chance as the half came to a close.

How has Panama kept Argentina at bay? Keeping players in front of them and effectively intercepting and clearing crosses. This game is calling out for an Argentina player who can dribble and beat players 1-on-1 ... Lionel Messi can't do it the way he used to. Thiago Almada at some point would make a lot of sense.

44th min.: Panama goalkeeper Jose Guerra has to parry away a shot from outside the area by Argentina's Enzo Fernandez. It goes out for a corner, but nothing comes of it.

37th min.: Chance Argentina! Rodrigo De Paul is on fire. He threads another ball, this time to Messi, but there's Panama centre-back Richard Peralta who throws his body at Messi's shot in the box and defuses the threat.

32nd min.: Argentina are looking for low, driven crosses into the area, but they're not finding feet so far. Right-back Nahuel Molina tries another, but Panama 'keeper Jose Guerra is ready for it.

24th min.: Chance Argentina! Rodrigo De Paul with a through ball to Alexis Mac Allister who nearly pokes the ball past the goalkeeper, who makes the stop.

De Paul is on the ball a lot so far. Di Maria now moved to the right, and Alexis Mac Allister is occupying the left flank in what looks more like a 4-4-2 for Argentina.

18th min.: Chance Argentina! Messi gets up and takes the ensuing free kick and slams it off the right post.

16th min.: YELLOW card Panama. It's left-back Kevin Galvan who gets it for a two-footed lunge on Lionel Messi that could've been a red card.

15th min.: How is it still 0-0? Panama are defending well with numbers behind the ball. And they're also throwing their bodies at shots ... like this.

10th min.: Angel Di Maria is operating on the left side, Lionel Messi is right behind Julian Alvarez. Right-back Nahuel Molina is basically acting as a right winger so far.

Speaking of Messi, they've spotted three stars on his adidas boots, too.

8th min.: Panama with a response! They earn a corner through Cristian Quintero on the left wing. And then on the other end of the field, right-back Ivan Anderson goes on a slalom through four Argentina players. Los Canaleros with some personality on the big stage.

3rd min.: Only three minutes have gone by and Argentina have already had a corner, forced a clearance, and gotten a shot on goal through Lionel Messi. We could get a tennis score here.

1st min.: We're off. It'll be interesting to see how Argentina come out after all that emotion to start the match.

2 mins to kickoff: The tear rolling down Dibu Martinez's face during the anthem was REAL. The subs are lined up with their kids for the anthem. That's going to be a long handshake line for Panama.

5 mins to kickoff: Lionel Messi, Dibu Martinez, and Lionel Scaloni are in tears after the crowd serenades the world champions.

15 mins to kickoff: The players are back inside the dressing rooms. Warmups are over. The next time we'll see them, they'll be wearing their three stars and getting ready for an anthem that no one is sure to forget.

23 mins to kickoff: The Argentina lineup announcement in-stadium wasn't your run-of-the-mill reading of names.

30 mins to kickoff: Dibu Martinez playing to the crowd with some of his dance moves made famous after penalty shootouts.

And here was Dibu on his entry for warmups, pointing at the three stars.

40 mins to kickoff: While the players are warming up, the players' families are getting a moment in front of the crowd, as well.

55 mins to kickoff: In case you were wondering, here's the jersey that the world champions will be wearing with the FIFA World Cup champion patch and the third star above the badge.

55 mins to kickoff: It wouldn't be a World Cup celebration without the "Muchachos" song led by the man who came up with the lyrics himself.

60 mins to kickoff: We have Argentina's starting lineup and it's the exact same one that took the field for the World Cup final. It was only right.

70 mins to kickoff: A jam-packed Monumental is a real sight. The match is still over an hour away.

75 mins to kickoff: It's a real show at the Monumental today with musical acts preceding the Argentina vs. Panama celebratory match. This is a glimpse at the crowd taking in La T y La M.

Also, apparently for two years running, Argentina stars Leandro Paredes and Rodrigo De Paul have a joint superstition in which they walk to the center circle for EVERY GAME and both eat a candy.

120 mins to kickoff: Lionel Messi has accomplished nearly everything there is to do in his football career, adding the coveted World Cup title to his extensive trophy case.

Yet he can still make history tonight. He is just one goal shy of the 800 career goals mark for club and country, while he sits two international goals from the century mark with Argentina. He continues to shatter expectations and defy the doubters at 35 years old!

Argentina vs Panama lineups, team news

Many expected manager Lionel Scaloni to field the same starting lineup that beat France, and he did just that. In-form youngster Thiago Almada was given playing time in the second half and made a difference, continuing to score goals and create chances as he's done in bunches for Atlanta United in Major League Soccer.

Argentina starting lineup (4-3-3): Emiliano 'Dibu' Martinez (GK) — Nahuel Molina, Cristiano Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Nicolas Tagliafico — Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo De Paul — Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez, Angel Di Maria.

Argentina subs (12): 1-Franco Armani (GK), 12-Geronimo Rulli (GK), 2-Juan Foyth, 4-Gonzalo Montiel, 5-Leandro Paredes, 6-German Pezzella, 8-Marcos Acuna, 14-Exequiel Palacios, 15-Angel Correa, 16-Thiago Almada, 17-Giovani Lo Celso, 18-Guido Rodriguez, 21-Paulo Dybala, 22-Lautaro Martinez, 25-Lisandro Martinez

Panama last took the field in mid-March for a friendly against Guatemala that finished in a 1-1 draw at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif. But this Panamanian squad was a second team managed by assistant coach Jorge Dely Valdes.

Panama starting lineup (4-3-1-2): 12-Jose Guerra (GK) — 2-Ivan Anderson, 13-Jiovany Ramos, 4-Edgardo Farina, 5-Richard Peralta, 3-Kevin Galvan — 19-Ronaldo Cordoba, 6-Irving Gudino, 11-Jose Murillo, 17-Cristian 'Cliquiti' Quintero — 9-Alfredo Stephens,

Panama subs (12): 1-Emerson Dimas, 7-Jorge Serrano, 8-Martin Moran, 10-Miguel Camargo, 14-Gilberto Hernandez, 15-Ricardo Avila, 16-Michael Casazola, 18-Victor Medina, 20-Omar Browne

How to watch Argentina vs Panama

  • Date: Thursday, March 23
  • Time: 7:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 p.m. GMT
  • Streaming (USA): Fanatiz (subscription required)
  • TV Channel (UK): BT Sport 2
  • Streaming (UK): BT Sport App, BTSport.com

The Argentina friendly against Panama will be broadcast in the United States exclusively on the streaming service Fanatiz, which requires a subscription.

In the United Kingdom, the game will be shown on BT Sport 2, with streaming available on their various platforms.

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.