Messi, Martinez give Argentina 4-1 win over Guatemala in pre-Copa friendly

Doubles from Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez saw them through after Guatemala took an early lead

Jun 14, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Argentina forward Lionel Messi (10) dribbles the ball as Guatemala midfielder Marco Dominguez (5) and Guatemala midfielder Jonathan Franco (22) defend in the first half at Commanders Field. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters

Doubles from Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez earned Argentina a 4-1 victory against Guatemala in their final Copa America warm-up on Friday.

Guatemala grabbed an early lead with their first-ever strike against the World Cup winners courtesy of Lisandro Martinez's own goal following a set-piece situation just four minutes into the game.

Lionel Messi equalised eight minutes later as keeper Nicholas Hagen cleared the ball straight into the path of the Argentine captain, who scored into an empty net.

Lautaro Martinez, this season's Serie A top scorer, put Argentina ahead with a penalty kick in the 39th minute before netting his second from a Messi pass after the break.

"We are aiming for the title, we are fighting for everything," Martinez told TyC Sports.

"We said it when the Copa America ended in 2021 and when the World Cup ended, we will try to prepare ourselves to start the Copa America in the best possible way and hopefully it will be all joy."

The 36-year-old Messi got his double in the 77th minute after a superb pass from substitute Angel Di Maria to seal the win for the Copa America reigning champions.

The Copa America runs from June 20 to July 14 in the United States. Lionel Scaloni's side kick off their Group A campaign against Canada on Thursday before facing Chile on June 25 and Peru four days later.

"We're going to keep trying to do our best, we still want to keep winning titles," Messi said. "It will be harder and harder, the games are getting tougher, winning (the Copa) again is hard, but we will try again."