Messi gets the angle but not the dip on his set-piece effort; he puts it over the top and the referee blows for full-time.
90' +2
Argentina win a free-kick through Messi, 25 yards out on the left after Vernet fouls him. Is there time for one more piece of magic?
90'
Two added minutes on the way; is there one last goal in this game?
89'
W. Vernet enters the game and replaces C. Arcus.
Arcus makes way for Waldo Vernet as the clock ticks down.
88'
Nazon lasy up a shot for Haiti as they search for a consolation goal; their attempt is blocked and Argentina deal with the subsequent corner.
86'
Acuna and Labissiere tussle for a ball on the cusp of halfway; the former goes down and earns a free-kick in the process.
84'
Offside now against Pavon as he breaks into the Haiti box chasing a Messi long ball.
82'
Messi lays a wide ball to Pavon on the left of the box - but the substitute can't finish, blasting it well over the crossbar.
80'
Salvio goes for goal after Meza slips him a pass in to the right of the penalty area; his effort is too high to trouble Placide in the end.
78'
R. Sprangers enters the game and replaces M. Cantave.
Cantave makes way for Richelor Sprangers now for Haiti. Argentina seem content to just play around midfield again for the moment.
Minute
Description
75'
É. Banega enters the game and replaces G. Lo Celso.
Ever Banega arrives for Argentina and replaces Lo Celso as the hosts further solidify their grip on this game.
73'
Aguero nearly makes it five for the hosts, but slips as he looks to finish another Messi through-ball and Placide is able to claim before a follow-up chance arises.
71'
M. Acuña enters the game and replaces N. Tagliafico.
Tagliafico is off for Argentina as the game restarts again; Marcos Acuna takes his spot on the field.
69'
S. Agüero has scored a goal for Argentina! Assist by L. Messi.
Messi gets an assist for the game too, to add to his three goals; it has very much been a captain's showing for the 30-year-old.
All too easy now for Argentina as they equal their historic record of four goals against Haiti, with Aguero driving a low finish into the bottom left corner from the centre-right of the box after the visiting back-four fail to cover a Messi break and pass. The earlier threat of a mauling is coming to pass.
67'
B. Labissiere enters the game and replaces Z. Herivaux.
B. Chevreuil enters the game and replaces B. Alcéus.
Herivaux makes way for Bryan Labissiere as Haiti make another change.
Alceus also departs for the visitors; Brian Chevreuil takes his place.
66'
L. Messi has scored a goal for Argentina! Assist by C. Pavón.
It's another hat-trick for Messi! He gets his 64th international goal with a tap-in finish as he meets Pavon's wonderfully weighted square ball at the right post and blasts it past Placide. Argentina look as imperious now as they did in the opening 45; they lead by three goals to nil.
Pavon picked out that pass through a crowded box perfectly; full credit to the substitute for that move, even if the finish is purely his captain.
63'
Pavon - a local favourite with the crowd - has injected a much-needed dash of pace into the Argentina attack after signs of fatigue earlier in this half. He zips down the left flank, and crosses in for Meza, only to find Jerome instead who clears.
59'
M. Meza enters the game and replaces M. Lanzini.
S. Agüero enters the game and replaces G. Higuaín.
C. Pavón enters the game and replaces Á. Di María.
...Lanzini makes way for Maximiliano Meza...
A fleet of changes for the hosts now; Higuain is replaced by Sergio Aguero...
... and Cristian Pavon replaces Di Maria.
58'
L. Messi has scored a goal for Argentina!
But that doesn't mean they're not dangerous! Messi gets his second as he knocks in a rebound from Placide after he deflected a close range Lo Celso effort. Argentina make it a two-goal lead with a simple move and Haiti's chances of a comeback are all but snuffed out.
57'
Argentina are not dominating the game the way they did in the first half so far since the break, though as Lanzini slips into the Haiti box, they flicker to life once more before the visitors push them back. They are playing with the pace of a training session rather than a full game.
55'
Another Haiti free-kick pins back Argentina in their own box - and in the first serious test of their back four tonight, they struggle to clear Jerome's effort. Messi takes it upon himself to carve it away from danger and the hosts come up trumps with the ball.
52'
Tagliafico accidentally handballs a long pass played back into his own half and Haiti take the free-kick quickly; Argentina are just as fast to shut down any sniff of a move frm Nazon however and the prospective half-chance slips away.
50'
M. Cantave gets yellow.
Cantave comes flying in with a tackle on Di Maria that sends the latter sprawling; the Haiti man gets a booking for his troubles, though Messi's follow-up free-kick fails to press the advantage of the hosts.
46'
M. Rojo enters the game and replaces F. Fazio.
S. Saba enters the game and replaces F. Vorbe.
D. Etienne enters the game and replaces J. Sanon.
We're back underway in Buenos Aires with a change for both sides; Fazio makes way for Marcos Rojo for the hosts...
...and Derrick Etienne Jr takes the place of Vorbe for the visitors.
45'
Mascherano looks to spark a last attack of the half as the clock ticks over but with no real chances, the referee blows for the break.
40'
The hosts have taken their foot off the pedal for the moment, holding in midfield, until Haiti come up with a free-kick on the back of a Jerome clearing effort.
36'
Now Tagliafico fouls Cantave inside the Haiti half and the visitors have a free-kick.
35'
Tagliafico wins a free-kick out on the left wing after Nazon brings him to ground but Argentina are unable to convert it into another clear-cut chance.
33'
In a rare reversal, Haiti are now caught offside as Alceus tries to slip a long ball through on the left to Christian.
31'
Higuain chases another long ball, this one from Mascherano; again, Placide sweeps in to save Haiti, flying out to the edge of his box and winning the race for possession.
30'
Di Maria flies down the left chasing a Messi long ball and is duly flagged for offside. Argentina are not letting up their attack in the slightest.
29'
Higuain should have made it two there! He meets an inch-perfect Salvio cross six yards out - and falls over Placide as the keeper darts out to deflect. Haiti keep it out again.
28'
A frantic number of attempts to finish from Otamendi, Messi and Di Maria come to naught as Haiti scramble defenders left, right and centre, eventually seeing the ball away from danger.
27'
Salvio tries a cross in from the right off the back of another breakaway run; Christian blocks for a corner.
25'
Di Maria goes close! Lanzini and Lo Celso combine for a fabulous piece of interplay on the right flank that ends with a lofted cross to the left; but the PSG man's volley can't find the mark, squeezing wide at the far post.
23'
It's one-way traffic, as expected, for the hosts, but they haven't strictly blown Haiti out of the water yet. Lo Celso slips a through-ball down the left for Tagliafico to chase, but the left-back's finish is wildly off-target, soaring into the stand behind.
21'
Higuain! The Juventus forward is gifted a cut-back pass in the middle of the Haiti box and turns it goalward through a cluttered, loose back four; but Placide gets fingertips to stop him and pushes it away from danger. Good save by the Oldham man.
19'
It's almost a second in the space of two minutes for Messi; he drifts forward a fraction too early to meet a Mascherano pass into the Haiti box and is pinged for offside directly in front of goal.
17'
Penalty goal scored by L. Messi for Argentina!
And Messi will score! The Argentina captain puts it to the left and despite a great dive from Placide, the ball takes a glance off his glove and flies into the back of the net. The hosts lead 1-0 after 17 minutes.
16'
R. Adé gets yellow.
Penalty to Argentina! Lo Celso is brought down with a careless lunge from Ade and the referee wastes no time in brandishing a card and pointing to the spot. Messi will take...
14'
Another corner to Argentina now as Ade blocks a cross from Salvio. The hosts don't make it stick though; this time, Placide claims with little trouble. Still goalless inside the opening 15 minutes.
12'
Messi bursts through the Haiti midfield and makes a dizzying, trademark 45-yard run through the middle; again, his finish leaves much to be desired as he puts it straight to Placide again. Two good stops for the keeper so far.
11'
Lanzini turns it in and Higuain is the man who meets it with a header; only he gets his angle wrong and steers it out at the left post.
10'
Salvio earns a corner for Argentina on the right after his weaving run is put out by Christian.
8'
Messi now canters into the right side of the penalty area to meet a Mascherano long ball; his finish is poor however, putting it straight into the arms of Placide.
7'
Di Maria pops up on the left edge of the Haiti box to meet a sharp through-ball from Messi; he sprays his shot wide to the right under little pressure but flickers of menace emerging from the Argentina attack.
5'
Messi puts it long and finds Di Maria deep at the far post; he can't control his finish and a second attempt by Higuain goes straight to Placide.
4'
A promising free-kick for Argentina now, 25 yards out on the left wing as Cantave fouls Lo Celso. Messi to take...
3'
Tagliafico and Di Maria combine to put the hosts down the left wing; the latter's late touch is too heavy to control the ball though and Haiti come away with a loose ball.
1'
Ten minutes past the scheduled kick-off time, we are underway in Buenos Aires! Haiti kick off and play it deep down the left; the hosts quickly break them down and force them back with ease.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of this pre-World Cup friendly as 2014 finalists Argentina look to warm up for Russia against Haiti at the Estadio Alberto J. Armando in Buenos Aires. The Albiceleste and their captain Lionel Messi will be looking to go one better after they fell to Germany 1-0 after extra time in Brazil back in 2014; will they preface their campaign with a win against the side ranked 108th in the world?
It’s been a long time since the visitors competed at football’s showpiece tournament; 44 years to be precise, when they made their only appearance at the 1974 World Cup in Germany, finishing bottom of their group in the first round. It remains the only competitive meeting between the two sides too; Argentina ran out 4-1 winners when the pair met in Munich.
Jorge Sampaoli’s side are looking to return to winning ways after their last outing, when they were drubbed 6-1 by Spain in a friendly back in March. Haiti conversely are undefeated in their last two games; they held Japan to a 3-3 draw in October last year before following it up with a 1-0 win against the United Arab Emirates in November.
Team news now and the big story is that Messi does indeed play and captain his country tonight; the Barcelona star was expected to potentially miss this game ahead of Russia so as to avoid the chance of picking up any injuries; he is of course chasing a first World Cup winners’ medal. Among the Haiti team is defender Mechack Jerome; the only player in his side to have featured when the two teams last met in a friendly in 2010.
ARGENTINA (4-5-1): Willy Caballero; Nicolas Tagliafico, Nicolas Otamendi, Federico Fazio, Cristian Ansaldi; Manuel Lanzini, Giovani Lo Celso, Angel Di María, Javier Mascherano, Lionel Messi; Gonzalo Higuain
HAITI (4-3-3): Johny Placide; Ricardo Ade, Carlens Arcus, Alex Junior Christian, Mechack Jerome; Zachary Herivaux, Fabien Vorbe, Bryan Alceus; Jimmy-Shammar Sanon, Duckens Nazon, Mikael Cantave
Subs: Sergio Aguero, Franco Armani, Gabriel Mercado, Lucas Biglia, Ever Banega, Marcos Acuna, Eduardo Salvio, Marcos Rojo, Paulo Dybala, Maximiliano Meza, Cristian Pavon, Nahuel Guzman
The teams are heading out in Buenos Aires and we're moments away from kick-off.
Before kick-off can take place, Javier Mascherano is presented with a commemorative shirt to celebrate his 143rd appearance for the national team, joining Javier Zanetti on the all-time record.
Lionel Messi's penalty is the difference after 45 minutes in Buenos Aires but it could be so much more for Argentina who have found themselves frustrated by a fine showing by Haiti keeper Johny Placide. The hosts are in total control and look set for the win even with a single-goal advantage - but there is still work to be done in this tune-up turn-out. At half time, it's Argentina 1-0 Haiti.
A hat-trick for Lionel Messi ensured that Argentina ran out comfortable winners in their only home warm-up before the World Cup as they delivered a convincing 4-0 win over Haiti that will give their fans hope of bringing home the Jules Rimet Trophy from Russia. There is work to be done for Jorge Sampaoli's side still - their back-line were never really tested but looked fragile on occasion - but on the whole, this a tune-up they will happily take. Full-time in Buenos Aires, it finishes Argentina 4-0 Haiti.
Argentina now get on a plane to Europe where they have an eight-day camp in Barcelona ahead of a final warm-up game against Israel. As for Haiti, their season is done and dusted; they're next in action against Sint Maarten in September. Until then however, thank you for joining us and have a good week!
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