Isco scored his first international hat-trick as Spain continued their preparations for the World Cup with an astonishing 6-1 victory over Argentina in a pulsating and competitive friendly.
Ruthless Spain teach Messi-less Argentina a lesson. For anyone who claims international friendlies are meaningless and boring: this one was for you. Interest may have waned when the news broke on Tuesday afternoon that Messi was unavailable but there was still plenty of drama without the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Messi - ruled out with a muscle injury - could only look on as his team-mates were torn apart. The visitors constantly surrendered the ball in dangerous areas, with their high-line defence playing like complete strangers. And when chances came their way in attack, the strikers proved wasteful.
But Argentina's weaknesses shouldn’t take away from Spain’s immense performance; their tireless high-pressing game forced the visitors into countless mistakes and their five-goal winning margin was a lesson in attacking proficiency.