That's the full-time whistle, and Argentina have secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Iceland. Barco opened the scoring in the 8th minute before Messi's 68th minute arrival injected more quality, control, and focus in the Argentina attack. That's all from us folks, see you in the World Cup!

Lautaro Martinez's unselfish pass to Messi gives the former Barcelona man an opportunity to score, but his shot is blocked. The offside then goes up! Argentina aren't slowing down despite being 3-0 up. 

Lionel Messi was presented with a direct free-kick opportunity not too far from the Iceland penalty box. He chose the indirect option instead, picking out Cristian Romero inside the area, but the defender's cross failed to penetrate the backline. Iceland, meanwhile, took advantage of the break in play to make four changes of their own.

Lionel Messi drops deep into the midfield in order to help his team keep better control of the ball. He puts the ball on the left flank for Nico Gonzalez, but his cross is a poor one. The ball is out for a goalkick. 

Lautaro Martinez goes into the referee's book for a sliding challenge. It could've been a red if his feet were a little higher. Just seconds later, it's Rodrigo de Paul who gets fouled by Hakon Arnar Haraldsson.

Lionel Messi comes on for Argentina in the 68th minute. The fans' wait to see the greatest No. 10 the world has seen has finally ended. He comes in right after Lautaro Martinez rattled the right post, exactly the same way as Mac Allister did earlier. 

A melee breaks out in the middle after Isak Johannesson's foul. The referee intervenes and separates the players, and gives Johannesson a yellow card. 

Alexis Mac Allister hits the right post as Argentina launch a threatening counter-attack. The Liverpool man almost made it 2-0 for his side, but somehow, he couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. The game is getting more and more thrilling with every passing minute. 

Great bit of play by Iceland, an excellent 1-2 is executed before Hakon Arnar Haraldsson unleashes a brilliant strike from the edge of the Argentina penalty box. The shot, however, flew just wide of the right post. 

An impressive display of pressing by the Icelandic forwards, but all they could do was force a goalkick. Great counter-attack by Argentina that saw Lopez almost put Lautaro Martinez through on an empty goal, but his grounded cross was just a little too quick for the Inter Milan forward. The scoreline remains 1-0 for Argentina, who have now brought in Nico Gonzalez in place of Otamendi.

Enzo Fernandez received a precise pass inside the box and was given the time to drill a promising strike towards the bottom left corner. However, Elias Olafsson anticipated his intention perfectly and denied him with a fine save.

A host of experienced players have given Argentina a boost in energy and belief as the second half begins. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has begun warm-up. It only seems a matter of time before manager Lionel Scaloni throws him in the mix. 

The players are back on the field, and the second half is underway! A host of changes were made to the team by Argentina, though Lionel Messi has still remained on the bench. Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo de Paul, Cristian Gabriel Romero, Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez are on for Argentina as the second half begins.

A total of three minutes were added to regular time in the first half, but neither team managed to launch a real attack during this period. That is the half-time whistle, and Argentina will be happy with the 1-0 lead they hold. Lionel Messi, currently on the bench, is expected to come on early in the second half.

A thunderous shot from Isak Johannesson hits Argentina goalkeeper Rulli, but there's no one closing in to pounce on the rebound. Good effort, but the end result is still missing for Argentina. 

Barco is the first Argentine man to go into the book. Quite rash from the Argentine, and the referee didn't have any doubts before pulling out the yellow card from his pocket. Barco needs to be more cautious; he has been in the thick of the action so far!

On the counter-attack, Simeone gets the opportunity to test the Icelandic goalkeeper. He cuts in from the left flank before unleashing a shot, but it goes straight into the hands of the goalkeeper. Nico Paz then latches onto a pass inside the box, but his shot is blocked by the keeper. Two quick chances for Argentina. 41 minutes gone!

A long ball from Iceland defence looks to find a solo runner in front, but the hit was a little too powerful. Argentina goalkeeper Rulli collects the ball and passes it on to a teammate. 

A hopeful aerial ball is sent into the Argentina penalty box for Daniel Leo Gretarsson to head but he is surrounded by too many Argentina defenders. The threat is cleared, but Iceland are able to retain possession. The gear-shift has been sustained for the time being by Iceland. 36 minutes have gone!

Giovani Lo Celso delivered a free-kick from the left flank into the Iceland penalty box, but it was cleared. Argentina are struggling to bring the ball forward from the middle of the pitch as Iceland up the ante. There are simply too many men in the middle, forcing Argentina to play the ball backward again and again.

Victor Palsson is the first person to go into the referee's book. He gets a yellow card for making a challenge on his opponent, but his teammates aren't happy with the referee. A few words are exchanged. 

Valentin Barco with a rash foul that forces the referee to stop the play. Iceland fail to make the most of the free-kick, as it gets blocked by Barco. Then a long throw into the Argentina penalty area by Iceland but the defenders clear it effectively. Iceland still lacking the cutting edge required to threaten Argentina. 28 minutes gone!

Nico Paz unleashed a promising-looking free-kick, but it went over the crossbar. The Icelandic goalkeeper didn't have to move a single muscle. A cooling break is given to the players. 

Nico Paz with a brilliant piece of movement in the middle before he passed the ball to Jose Lopez, but the threat couldn't materialise. Another similar attack, and this time, Lopez has been fouled just outside the Iceland penalty box. 

20 minutes have gone, and Argentina are the ones who have enjoyed the majority of possession, and the bulk of chances. After conceding the opener at the 8th minute, Iceland are coming out of their shell, but the press by Argentina's forwards and midfield is making it difficult for them to carry the ball forward. It's been a walk in the park for Argentina so far, barring the early chance. 

A couple of rough tackles by Argentina, first Lisandro Martinez and then Jose Lopez didn't go down well with the referee. Warnings issued to the Argentina duo. If such an incident is repeated, the referee wouldn't mind issuing a yellow card. 

Jose Lopez with a big opportunity to put Argentina 2-0 up after Iceland lost the ball deep into the opponent's half. Lopez forces the goalkeeper to make a diving save, but there's no one from Argentina on the rebound. The threat ends. 

No rush from the world champions after the early scare against Iceland, who are defending deep in their half. It's clear that Iceland would only look to hit Argentina on the counter. But, the world champions are keeping the ball with them, showing no urgency at the moment. It's pure possession football for them. 

Nico Paz had the opportunity to test the Icelandic goalkeeper, but the ball was taken off his feet right before he looked to unleash the shot. On the counter-attack, Iceland missed a golden opportunity from point-blank range; Ellertsson put the ball over the crossbar after failing to properly get his right foot behind it. Argentina should have been 1-0 down here.

Rosendo Mendoza is introduced as the referee for the match today. Handshakes are over. It's Argentina who have the ball at the centre of the pitch. The world champions are off!

The starting XIs of Argentina and Iceland are out, and we are ready for the warm-up fixture to begin. Argentina want to maintain their 100% record but Iceland have an upset in their minds. Having not qualified for the FIFA World CUp 2026, Iceland are keen to wrap up their US trip with a win. 

National anthems are done. It's now time for the on-field action!

Lionel Scaloni's side might not have the biggest superstars on the team sheet but they are formidable as a team. In fact, Argentina have won their last six matches, scoring 18 goals while conceding just one. The team is unbeaten in friendlies since March 2019.

Here's a look at the bench of both teams:

Argentina: Juan Musso, Lionel Messi, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Tagliafico, Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Gonzalez, Lautaro Martinez, Thiago Almada, Nicolas Paz, and Nicolas Capaldo

Iceland: Hakon Valdimarsson, Anton Ari Einarsson, Stefan Thordarson, Dagur Thorhallsson, Kristian Hlynsson, Gisli Thordarson, Brynjolfur Willumsson, Daniel Gudjohnsen, Kristall Mani Ingason, and Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson

Lionel Scaloni's Argentina enter the game on the back of a comfortable 2-0 friendly win over Honduras. With the Iceland game being their final warm-up before the World Cup begins, Argentina have nothing less than the title in their sights as they aim to become the first men's team to successfully retain the World Cup trophy since Brazil did so in 1962.

A look at Iceland's starting XI:

Hakon Valdimarsson (gk), Gunnar Thorhallsson, Daniel Gretarsson, Hjortur Hermannsson, Hordur Magnusson, Logi Tomasson, Mikael Ellertsson, Gudmundur Thorarinsson, Baldur Baldursson, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Orri Oskarsson

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 warm-up game between Argentina and Iceland. Lionel Messi starts on the bench for Argentina while Nico Paz and Jose Manuel Lopez are leading the line in a 2-man attack. Here's the starting XI:

Rulli; Giay, Otamendi, Lisandro, Medina; Lo Celso, Palacios, Barco, Simeone, Lopez and Paz.