Argentina defeats El Salvador 2-0 in front of 54,000 fans in Maryland

Nearly 54,000 supporters battled the freezing cold of FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland Saturday afternoon to watch Argentina beat El Salvador 2-0 in an exhibition match.

Some Argentina supporters were disappointed because even though there was a brief glimpse of Messi, he was relegated to the bench along with Sergio Aguero.

El Salvador supporters, meanwhile, were baffled by the organizers’ decision to play the wrong anthem. It was an embarrassing faux pas as there’s a large number of El Salvador immigrants living in the area.

That, along with issues where security were woefully understaffed to handle the crowd, didn’t completely spoil our experience at the game.

Argentina dominated possession as they parked themselves in El Salvador’s half of the pitch. However, Argentina missed several goalscoring opportunities due to lackluster play. In many instances, especially in the first half, it seemed as if El Salvador would be scrappy enough to hang on for a draw but quickly became undone due to an own goal in the 54th minute.

Argentina sealed the win with a scintillating free kick from Federico Mancuello in the 88th minute.

Argentina faces Ecuador on Tuesday in the Meadowlands in their last match before the Copa America in June.