Italy's last chance is blasted wide and over by Insigne from 25 yards out - and that's the game as referee Martin Atkinson blows for full-time!
89'
G. Mercado enters the game and replaces F. Bustos.
Bustos makes way now for Gabriel Mercado.
87'
There's a few players not nailed on for Russia who have played their way into contention today for Argentina. It'll make for a few selection headaches for Jorge Sampaoli.
86'
A. Belotti enters the game and replaces Jorginho.
Jorginho makes way for Andrea Belotti now.
85'
M. Lanzini has scored a goal for Argentina! Assist by G. Higuaín.
Perotti! Buffon pulls another great save out of his locker, but the danger isn't gone yet for Italy as it spills back into open play.
Lanzini with the second! The West Ham man surely caps off an Argentina win with his first senior goal for the national side, wrong-footing two defenders and burying his shot into the top left corner from the edge of the box.
Higuain was the man who laid up a lovely break and pass for Lanzini to finish and that is an excellent strike to sign off a good win ahead of the World Cup.
84'
Perotti's cross from the left of the box finds no-one and Italy will get the goal-kick.
82'
Italy have had the wind taken out of their sails somewhat by that goal; their attack play since has been stilted somewhat. Banega comes again for Argentina and finds Lanzini as they thread a counter-move together.
80'
Another flat Cutrone pass only goes to Caballero and the Argentina keeper has no difficulty intercepting it.
78'
Great work from Otamendi sees the defender cut across a lofted ball from Cutrone looking for Pellegrini and clear it.
76'
C. Pavón enters the game and replaces G. Lo Celso.
It is Lo Celso's last action of the game; Cristian Pavon is on to replace him.
Minute
Description
75'
É. Banega has scored a goal for Argentina! Assist by G. Lo Celso.
A great piece of interplay with Lo Celso for that goal; Banega's sixth on the international stage.
Ever Banega! What a goal! The substitute foxes Buffon with an excellent one-two and a cool strike into the bottom right corner off his left foot. Argentina have the lead in Manchester!
74'
P. Cutrone enters the game and replaces C. Immobile.
Immobile makes way now for Patrick Cutrone.
73'
Perotti! From a smartly played corner, the substitute launches a half-volley at goal, just bringing it over the crossbar. Close from the Argentinian.
72'
B. Cristante enters the game and replaces M. Verratti.
Verratti is replaced by Bryan Cristante now for Italy.
70'
Italy make a swift counter-move down the right edge of the park thanks to a Jorginho interception but Immobile's flat cross inside for Pellegrini runs behind the substitute and the chance goes begging.
68'
A superb run by Insigne down the left allows him to put a close-range shot on Caballero after keeping himself onside; the keeper saves and then stops the rebound follow-up from Candreva too.
66'
Italy get a throw-in deep inside their own half and manage to work it back to halfway under pressure from Banega.
64'
D. Perotti enters the game and replaces Á. Di María.
É. Banega enters the game and replaces L. Paredes.
Paredes is off for Argentina with Ever Banega on in his place...
... and Diego Perotti replaces Di Maria too.
63'
Free-kick to Argentina just inside their own half now after Pellegrini is caught offside with his first play of the game, fed by Immobile.
61'
D. Zappacosta enters the game and replaces A. Florenzi.
A. Candreva enters the game and replaces F. Chiesa.
L. Pellegrini enters the game and replaces M. Parolo.
Three changes now for Italy; Antonio Candreva replaces Chiesa...
...Parolo makes way for Lorenzo Pellegrini...
... and Florenzi is replaced by Davide Zappacosta.
60'
Great work from Caballero at the left post stops a Immobile shot from close range and then Argentina pressure Italy into botching their corner.
58'
Chiesa puts a fine ball flat into the Argentina box for a tap-in from Insigne; the Napoli man can't stick it under pressure and overruns, allowing Fazio to clear.
57'
Di Maria tries his luck from distance. and puts it softly to Buffon in what was a rather tame effort.
56'
Verratti and De Sciglio combine on the left flank as they look to work around the Argentina defence, only to be pushed back by Bustos and Otamendi.
54'
Di Maria's latest cross in only finds Rugani who heads back to midfield and Argentina regather once more.
52'
Lo Celso, Lanzini and Higuain combine for a fine one-two-three move around the back of the Italian defence only for the last pass back to the striker to be intercepted by Bonucci.
50'
Now Argentina have a great chance too, as Higuain just tips a header over the crossbar in front of the Italian goal after a fine Di Maria cross from the left.
48'
How did Insigne miss that?! A horrible pass from Parades is intercepted by Chiesa who feeds it inside to the Napoli man, 10 yards out with only the keeper to beat - and he puts it way off target, wide and above the goal to the right.
47'
Insigne's kick gets a great trajectory on it and goes close to the head of Florenzi; Caballero is able to deal with it however and punches the ball away into open play.
46'
We're back underway in Manchester and from the off, Italy's first attack is pulled for offside. They recover fast though and Insigne then wins a free-kick 25 yards out on the left.
45'
Buffon with the brilliant save once more! Di Maria times a perfect pass outside him to the left for Higuain, who blasts for the close bottom corner - and his Juventus team-mate saves once more! It's the last play of the half; there's no added time as the referee blows for the break!
43'
Tagliafico! Close from the left-back as he knocks in a swift ball from Di Maria, only for Buffon to push it back once more.
41'
Immobile's latest half-chance is just that; a half-chance. He gets the pass through the defence from Rugani, only to clip it off the outside of his boot and it trickles wide without registering as a serious shot.
39'
Paredes then has the best chance from distance of the game; he curls a shot from 25 yards out through a congested Italian defence and tips it around the left post. A good effort from the Argentinian midfielder.
38'
Jorginho flicks on a slick ball, curled around Paredes, looking for Chiesa; instead, it goes to Fazio and Argentina counter at pace.
36'
Di Maria sparks a great chance for Argentina, snaking into the box on the left and crossing to the right - only for Lanzini to be nowhere in sight. A waste of a chance there.
34'
Verratti pokes a neat pass through Argentina's midfield, looking for Immobile, but it is collected swiftly by Biglia who pumps it back down the opposite end.
32'
Di Maria slips the Italian back-line looking for goal but in doing so, taps the ball on too heavily and Buffon sweeps in to collect.
30'
Free-kick to Italy inside their own half as Verratti is brought to ground by Higuain.
29'
Argentina are pinned back with the ball in their own half by a pressing Italian attack and struggle to work it out before conceding the ball to Jorginho.
27'
Paredes is almost round Bouncci at the back, and slips into the Italy box before Florenzi comes across to undercut him and clear.
25'
Argentina more settled now as we tick over the quarter-mark of this match but Italy almost open them up through De Sciglio as the left-back slices a sweet ball in for Immobile, one that is scooped up by Caballero in the nick of time.
23'
Solid work in defence from De Sciglio sees him herd out a misplaced Lanzini pass under pressure for a goal kick.
21'
Another Italian attack now, but it fizzles out too as Chiesa can't take in the through-ball from Parolo.
20'
Offside against Insigne now as he is slipped a long pass by Verratti.
19'
Di Maria earns a free-kick now for Argentina and the danger of the set-piece lurks once more - but the PSG man's effort skews into the wall and Italy counter with their own attack.
17'
Stop from Buffon! Otamendi lands a brilliant header at the near-left post and the Italian keeper makes an excellent save to deny him.
16'
Di Maria wins a corner for Argentina against the run of play after a nippy counter now. Italy drift back to occupy the box, with Buffon prowling his goal-line.
14'
Chiesa goes chasing a long effort from Parolo now for Italy; Caballero comes out of his box and deals with it by leathering it back downfield.
12'
Otamendi puts a howler of a through-ball into the Italy box, nowhere near any of his own players, and Buffon just watches it roll out.
10'
Italy look the more alert of the two so far, though Argentina are packing a few less superstars than normal for this game. Insigne makes a great one-two around the edge of the box again on Bustos; Caballero is less worried by the move however and sweeps in to claim a heavy touch.
8'
Free-kick to Italy now as Lanzini fouls Jorginho just to the left of the Argentina box. Insigne turns it well, putting it to the far-right post - but Florenzi's header leaves much to be desired, pushing it wide of the net.
7'
Otamendi makes a somewhat frantic clearance after Italy encroach upon the Argentina box through Insigne.
5'
Di Maria cracks off the first shot of the night, but it's a slow, tame effort pointed towards the bottom-right corner that Buffon has no trouble dealing with.
3'
Lo Celso wins a free-kick for Argentina now, out on the right flank just inside the Italian half, and he opts to play it low across to Di Maria. Italy are able to push back though and the advantage is lost.
1'
We're off in Manchester! Italy have the first sniff of the game, with Verratti feeding a neat ball across the Argentina box to Immobile but the Lazio man is caught offside.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Italy versus Argentina in this international friendly from the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. The build-up to the World Cup starts now for Jorge Sampaoli's men, as they take on a side missing their first major tournament since the 1992 European Championship – can they kick off with a win or will Gli Azzurri start their new dawn with victory themselves?
Last November's failure to qualify for the World Cup – for the first time since 1958 – sparked a number of retirements from senior Italian players including captain Gianluigi Buffon, though he has since reversed his decision, and the dismissal of Gian Piero Ventura as coach. Caretaker boss Luigi Di Biagio has a tough tasking stopping the opposition tonight – but can his new-look side do the job?
Argentina had a harder-than-anticipated run in their qualification to Russia but they made it through by two points alongside Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia, and now face the task of deciding who will go to the tournament. Lionel Messi is expected to be at the forefront of their plans – but the Barcelona man does not start in the North West of England tonight, instead named on the bench.
Additional team news now; as expected, Buffon remains to captain Italy, who starts in goal whilst PSG's Marco Veratti and Lazio's Ciro Immobile both also make the XI. For Argentina, Giovani Lo Celso takes the place of Messi – rested with a sore adductor muscle – whilst Angel Di Maria also features for the South American side.
ITALY (4-3-3): Buffon; Florenzi, Bonucci, De Sciglio, Rugani; Parolo, Verratti, Jorginho; Insigne, Immobile, Chiesa
This will be the 15th encounter between the two sides, with Italy having won the lion's share of matches; they haven't triumphed over Argentina however, for almost 30 years, since June 1987. The pair have played out four more games since then; the most recent a 2013 friendly when La Albiceleste won 2-1.
The teams are out for the national anthems and we're moments away from kick-off.
A moment of silence now as both teams line up in memory of Davide Astori, the late Fiorentina captain who passed away earlier this month.
At 40 years old, Gianluigi Buffon has no right to be making saves like that - but two absolute beauties late on mean that Argentina go in at the break without a goal. It's all square in Manchester in what has been a well-balanced encounter so far; at half-time, it's Argentina 0-0 Italy.
In what was a perfect warm-up for the World Cup, Argentina found themselves tested if not always troubled by a gutsy Italian side in Manchester. Two wonderful strikes in the final quarter from Banega and Lanzini give them the win - and leaves head coach Jorge Sampaoli with a few more questions about who will be on the plane to Russia. At full-time, it's Argentina 2-0 Italy; thank you for joining us and have a good weekend!
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