Zambia suffered a 5–0 defeat to Argentina on Wednesday morning in front of a packed Estadio Alberto José Armando in Buenos Aires.

Playing what was believed to be his last international match on home soil, Lionel Messi wasted no time in making an impact, registering his eighth assist in nine internationals at La Bombonera. Just three minutes in, he slipped a pass to Julián Álvarez, who fired into the bottom-left corner past a helpless Willard Mwanza to give the hosts an early lead and extend their winning run.

Zambia struggled to create meaningful chances and keep possession, but Albert Kangwanda came close to levelling in the 32nd minute after brilliantly dribbling past the Argentine defence, only to see his effort go wide.

Messi then doubled Argentina’s advantage a minute before the interval, finishing from close range after a superb through ball from Alexis Mac Allister to make it 2–0 at halftime.

Argentina run riot in second half

Any hopes of a comeback were extinguished five minutes into the second half when Kangwanda brought down Thiago Almada in the box. Nicolás Otamendi stepped up and calmly converted the penalty, sending Mwanza the wrong way to make it 3–0.

Kingstone Mutandwa registered Zambia’s only shot on target after working his way into the box and aiming for the bottom-left corner, but Emiliano Martínez was alert to deny him.

George Lwandamina then made changes, handing Chanka Zimba his debut as he replaced Fashion Sakala, while Patson Daka came on for Given Kalusa and Owen Tembo replaced Mutandwa.

With Argentina firmly in control, they added a fourth in the 68th minute when a clever exchange between Valentín Barco and Almada saw the latter drive into the box, with his cross deflecting off Dominic Chanda and into the net for an own goal.

Lwandamina made further substitutions, introducing Pascal Phiri for Kangwanda, Kondwani Chiboni for Wilson Chisala, and Fredrick Mulambia for Fredrick Mwimanzi.

However, it proved a one-sided contest, as the world champions added a fifth deep into stoppage time through Barco. The result marked Argentina’s 26th clean sheet in 31 wins since lifting the World Cup in December 2022. For Zambia, this was an extension of a 100% losing record against South American opponents to a fifth game.

The Chipolopolo will now shift their focus to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, which kick off in September this year, while Argentina turn their attention to defending their world title in June.

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