Lionel Messi returns to break another record as Argentina thrash Puerto Rico in mis-match

• Last Update: October 15, 2025 08:38:14 am BST • 3 min read

Lionel Messi broke another record and four World Cup hopefuls made their debuts as Argentina crushed Puerto Rico 6-0 in a one-sided friendly.

Inter Miami star Messi set up two of the goals in his home stadium in Fort Lauderdale to move to 60 assists in international football – one ahead of Brazil’s Neymar. He is just two assists short of 400 in his stellar career.

Alexis Mac Allister and Lautaro Martinez scored twice with Gonzalo Montiel and a Steven Echevarria own goal completing the rout.

Scaloni gets chance to look at four hopefuls

It wasn’t just a night for the established names, however, with coach Lionel Scaloni handing first caps to a quartet of players trying to establish themselves in the national team – José Manuel López (Palmeiras), Lautaro Rivero (River Plate), Aníbal Moreno (Palmeiras) and Facundo Cambeses (Racing).

Lopez started the game that was switched from Chicago due to civil unrest in the Illinois city, while the other three came off the bench.

Scaloni said: “Luckily we could see guys who haven’t had many minutes.First what we analyze is how they approach it.

“They are important players and Puerto Rico allowed us to see them play. I debuted in the national team in a match with Libya and I have it engraved in my memory. 

“From now on they will have to continue performing to put the other players and also the coach in trouble.”

Although the game with a team ranked 155th in the world was a non-event as a spectacle, Scaloni confirmed there had been a lot of work done on the training field over this international break, which also included a 1-0 win over Venezuela on Friday.

He added: ”We were able to do more intense workouts than normal. They [the debutants] are valid players who showed that they have the ability to be here, so we knew that they were going to perform. 

“And irrespective of the opponent, we have our level and they have to get used to that.”

Always a joy to have Messi with us – Scaloni

Messi missed the Venezuela game after opting instead to play for Miami against Atlanta United on Saturday, scoring twice in a 4-0 win.

“Yesterday I asked him if he was ready to play, and he said yes. It’s always a joy for us,” Scaloni said.

“He trained with us last week, and then we decided not to use him against Venezuela. We had Lautaro [Martinez] and Julián [Alvarez], and we had el Flaco Lopez on the bench. He was able to play this match, and I imagine both he and Rodrigo [De Paul] felt at home on the pitch where they play.”