Argentina hosted Mauritania on Friday, March 27, at the Bombonera in a March international window friendly. Despite a quiet performance from Lionel Messi, who entered the pitch in the second half, the Albiceleste held on for a narrow 2-1 victory.
With Messi starting on the bench, Argentina did their best work in the first half, opening the scoring when Enzo Fernandez converted a Nahuel Molina cross in the 17th minute. Nico Paz then doubled the lead in the 32nd minute, stepping up to curl a free kick into the net.
The second half brought Messi’s introduction, but the team’s performance dropped off considerably, with Argentina failing to register a single shot on target after the break. The Inter Miami star’s only attempt was blocked, while Mauritania grew into the game and forced Emiliano Martinez into several saves before Jordan Lefort pulled one back in the final moments after a scramble inside the box to set up a nervy finish.
Argentina will now turn their attention to Tuesday’s clash against Zambia on March 31 at the Bombonera, the Albiceleste’s final home match before their World Cup campaign in North America. Mauritania, meanwhile, will also be in action on Tuesday, March 31, when they face Palestine.
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Thank you for joining us!
That’s the end of our live blog, Argentina securing a narrow 2-1 win over Mauritania. See you next time!
Full time!
Argentina claims the win 2-1 against Mauritania at the Bombonera.
94' – GOOOOOOAAAAAAL FOR MAURITANIA (2-1)
After a cross from a free kick and several rebounds inside the box, Jordan Lefort pounced on the loose ball and fired a cross-shot into the net to pull one back for Mauritania.
92' – Game stopped due to injury (2-0)
Trying to connect with De Paul's cross, Senesi clashed heads with Mohamed El Abd.
90' – Four more minutes (2-0)
Four minutes of stoppage time have been added.
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89' – Another save by Martinez (2-0)
After Palacios gave the ball away, Martinez responded to Souleymane's shot with a great save.
84' – More substitutions in Mauritania (2-0)
Ibrahima Keita, Aboubakary Koita, and Beyatt Lekoueiry off, Abdallahi Mahmoud, Nouh Mohamed El Abd, and Souleymane Anne on.
78' – Triple substitution in Mauritania (2-0)
Coach Aritz Lopez shakes the team with three modifications: Khadim Diaw, Moctar El Hacen and Sidi Yacoub in, Aly Abeid, Maata Magassa, and Oumar Ngom out.
75' – Two more subs in Argentina (2-0)
Thiago Almada and Alexis Mac Allister leave the field replaced by Jose Manuel Lopez and Exequiel Palacios.
74' – Mauritania keeps adding chances (2-0)
While the shot went far wide, Magassa once again tried his luck adding yet another chance for the away side.
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69' – Two more substitutions in Argentina (2-0)
Scaloni makes another modification in Argentina’s team: Agustin Giay and Gabriel Rojas in, Nahuel Molina and Marcos Acuña out.
65' – Great save by Martinez! (2-0)
Cutting inside with a sharp burst and getting past Romero, Koita unleashed a powerful strike that forced Martinez into a fine save, pushing the ball around the post.
63' – Clear chance missed by Mauritania!! (2-0)
In a cross to the second post, Magassa missed a clear chance that ended in a goal kick for Martinez.
63' – Another substitution in Mauritania (2-0)
Sidi Amar Bouna enters the field replacing Djeidi Gassama.
61' – Yellow card for Argentina (2-0)
Racing in behind, Koita got the better of Senesi, who caught him with a slight foul and was shown a yellow card.
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56' – Another substitution for Argentina (2-0)
Enzo Fernandez leaves the pitch replaced by Giuliano Simeone.
55' – Messi's shot deflected (2-0)
After a one-two with Mastantuono and De Paul, Messi let fly with his trademark whipped shot, but it was deflected behind for a corner.
53' – Mauritania's couterattack ends with another chance (2-0)
After a weighted through ball from Koita, Gassama got into the box and got a shot away under pressure, but it went wide of Martinez's goal.
50' – Messi unable to take his first shot off (2-0)
Getting involved with his teammates, Lionel Messi worked himself into a shooting position, but a last-ditch tackle denied him his first effort on goal.
45' – First substitution in Mauritania (2-0)
Papa Ndiaga Yade takes the field for Mamadou Diallo.
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Second half underway!
Argentina and Mauritania are back on the field after the break.
45' – Triple substitution in Argentina (2-0)
Coach Scaloni makes a triple substitution for the start of the second half: Lionel Messi, Rodrigo De Paul, and Franco Mastantuono in, Nico Paz, Nicolas Gonzalez, and Julian Alvarez out.
Halftime (1-1)
Argentina are winning 2-0 against Mauritania at the Bombonera, with Enzo Fernandez and Nico Paz the scorers.
45' – One more minute (2-0)
One minute of stoppage time has been added.
45' – First clear chance for Mauritania (2-0)
After failing to clear a cross, Lekoueiry unleashed a shot that Martinez was equal to, gathering comfortably.
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43' – Argentina slows down the game (2-0)
After the two goals, Argentina have eased off the accelerator, with the game settling into a more measured tempo as both sides share possession.
38' – First yellow card of the game (2-0)
After stomping on Nico Gonzalez's left foot, Mauritanian defender Lamine Ba sees the first yellow card of the game.
36' – Nico Paz misses his second goal (2-0)
After a sharp combination with Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Gonzalez whipped in a cross for Nico Paz, who failed to make clean contact with his shot, leaving Diop with a comfortable gather.
31' – GOOOOOOAAAAAAAL FOR ARGENTINA!!! (2-0)
After winning a foul on the edge of the box, Nico Paz stepped up and curled a wonderful free kick into the net to double the lead.
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27' – Another save by Diop (1-0)
Enzo Fernandez again found himself on the edge of the box, this time fed by Julian Alvarez from the left, but his shot was straight at Diop and comfortably saved.
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26' – Koita's shot goes wide (1-0)
Winning the ball in their own half, Mauritania launched a counter-attack, but Aboubakary Koita's shot flew well wide of the target.
21' – Mauritania inches close to the equalizer (1-0)
Collecting the rebound from a cleared cross, Ibrahima Keita struck the ball first time, with his shot whistling just inches wide of Martinez's goal.
17' – GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAL FOR ARGENTINA!! (1-0)
Resuming play from a free kick, Argentina decided to play the ball to the right side, where Nahuel Molina delivered a pinpoint cross for Enzo Fernandez, who struck the ball first time to open the scoring.
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15' – Diop saves Mauritania (0-0)
After a great ball from Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Gonzalez drove a powerful cross into the penalty spot, but goalkeeper Diop got down well to palm it away.
12' – Argentina unable to break Mauritania's low block (0-0)
Camped in the final third, Argentina are still struggling to find a way through Mauritania's defensive block, with the Albiceleste showing little interest in trying their luck from distance.
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7' – Clear chance wasted by Argentina (0-0)
With only goalkeeper Diop to beat, Almada tried to square the ball across for Julian Alvarez, but the pass just evaded the striker in what was a glaring chance for the hosts.
5' – Argentina starts dominating possession (0-0)
No clear chances have been created just yet, but Argentina are firmly in control of the ball, with Mauritania sitting back in a defensive shape.
Kickoff!
Referee Derliz López blows his whistle, and the game between Argentina and Mauritania is underway
Lionel Messi left out of Argentina's starting XI
In what figures to be the most talked-about team news ahead of kickoff, head coach Lionel Scaloni has opted to leave Lionel Messi on the bench for the match against Mauritania. As Scaloni made clear at Thursday's press conference, however, the Argentine icon is set to feature in both March friendlies, meaning fans can expect to see him come off the bench at some point in the second half.
Argentina's starting XI confirmed!
Argentina will be facing Mauritania with the next lineup (4-4-2): Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Marcos Senesi, Marcos Acuña; Nico Paz, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Nicolas Gonzalez; Thiago Almada, Julian Alvarez.
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Mauritania's confirmed lineup!
Spanish head coach Aritz Lopez Garai has confirmed the eleven players that'll be starting the game against Argentina (4-3-3): Babacar Diop; Ibrahima Keita, Lamine Ba, Jordan Lefort, Aly Abeid; Maata Magassa, Oumar Ngom, Beyatt Lekoueiry; Aboubakary Koita, Mamadou Diallo, Djeidi Gassama.
Who is the referee for Argentina vs Mauritania?
The referee selected for Friday's match between Argentina and Mauritania is Derliz Lopez, a 35-year-old official from Paraguay who has been a regular fixture in South American club competitions, including the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. Tonight's game will mark his first time officiating an Argentina national team match.
Friday's match between Argentina and Mauritania will take place at the Estadio Alberto J. Armando, better known as La Bombonera, in Buenos Aires. The iconic Boca Juniors stadium, which holds 57,200 spectators, will serve as the Albiceleste's home for tonight's friendly.
The game had also been considered for the Monumental, River Plate's stadium, given its larger capacity of more than 85,000 fans. However, rock band AC/DC is performing at the venue on Friday night as part of their Power Up Tour 2026, leaving the Argentine Football Association to look elsewhere.
Kickoff time and how to watch
Argentina and Mauritania will face off at 7:15 PM (ET).
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