International friendlies | Ecuador 1-6 Argentina: 3 Talking Points

Argentina put up a masterful performance in a convincing 6-1 victory over their South American rivals Ecuador in an exhibition game at the Estadio Martínez Valero in Elche Spain.

They went ahead as early as the 20th minute when Lucas Alario continued his fine scoring form for his nation by heading in a cross by Marcos Acuna and just seven minutes later, their lead was doubled when Jhon Espinosa turned into the back of his net and Leandro Paredes ensured Argentina went into the break with a three-goal lead when he converted from the spot.

Angel Mena pulled one back for Ecuador after the break to threaten a comeback, but goals by German Pezzella, Nicolas Dominguez, and Lucas Ocampos made sure of the result.

Here, we highlight three talking points from the fixture.

#3 Argentina continue upward trajectory under Lionel Scaloni

Scaloni is rebuilding the Argentine team

It is fairly common knowledge that the last two decades of Argentine football has not exactly been stellar, as crop after crop of talented players failed to hit the heights on the international scene.

The last of the great generations of Argentine players are gradually fizzling out and in their place is a team of largely unheralded players.

Current coach Lionel Scaloni was hired in less than ideal circumstances, but he largely overachieved by carrying an unfancied Argentina team to a third-place finish at the 2019 Copa America.

Since their semifinal ouster by Brazil, Los Albiceleste have been unbeaten in five matches, with some emphatic scorelines like the 4-0 defeat over Mexico recorded along the way.

The pick of the bunch was, however, the 2-2 draw with Germany last week wherein they came back from a two-goal first-half deficit to level matters and if anyone thought that was a fluke, it was followed by another impressive victory over Ecuador.

While Ecuador might be in a transitional phase evidenced by the inexperienced squad fielded in Spain, the fact that Argentina were able to dominate proceedings and play like a team - much like they did in the second 45 minutes against Germany - would have been very pleasing to Lionel Scaloni.

It might be too early to suggest that they are back among the big-time and Argentine fans are within their right to remain sceptical of their national team, but with the weight of expectation lifted from them, Argentina could well be on their way back to the summit of the international game.

#2 Marcos Acuna stakes a real claim to the left-back position

Argentina v Mexico - FIFA Friendly Match

Over the last two years, the left-back position has been alternated between Marcos Acuna and Nicolas Tagliafico, with the former the preferred choice for erstwhile manager Jorge Sampaoli.

However, upon resumption of duties as Argentina manager, Lionel Scaloni made Tagliafico his first-choice left-back, with the 27-year-old starting all six of Argentina's Copa America fixtures, as well as the four friendly matches after that.

However, the Ajax man has been less than convincing in his outings and was a major weak link in the game against Germany.

Marcos Acuna was brought on in place of Rojo against the Germans and the Sporting Lisbon man quickly made a mark on the game by providing the assist for Lucas Alario to start the comeback.

His fine performance was rewarded with a start against Ecuador and he once again combined with Alario to put Argentina ahead inside the first 20 minutes.

In what was an eventful first half for Acuna, the 27-year-old had a hand in all three goals, with his cross in the 27th minute leading to an own goal, while Lautaro Martinez was also fouled in the box after being found by Acuna.

Tagliafico might be the more defensively astute of the two owing to Acuna's position as a natural winger, but the attacking verve offered by the former Racing Club man means that Scaloni would seriously be considering making him a permanent fixture in his starting lineup.

#1 Youngsters prove that there is life after Lionel Messi

Alario opened the scoring against Ecuador

Lionel Messi is one of the greatest, if not the greatest player in the history of the game and although he has not quite inspired his nation to glory, his presence in the team still offers hope due to his game-changing abilities.

His ban by CONMEBOL after accusations of bias at the Copa America ensured that he has been ineligible for selection for Argentina, but even in the absence of him and fellow stalwarts like Angel di Maria and Sergio Aguero, Los Albiceleste still thrived.

One of the players who broke out this year was Lautaro Martinez, with the 22-year-old playing a starring role in Argentina's Copa America run and he followed that up with a hat-trick in the 4-0 bashing of Mexico.

That brought his tally for the year to eight goals from nine matches and heading into October's fixtures, the Inter Milan man was Argentina's go-to man in front of goal.

However, Scaloni's side scored eight goals in two matches and Lautaro Martinez was not among the goals.

Indeed, neither he nor the much-maligned Paulo Dybala had a hand in any goal (although he won a penalty against Ecuador) and it says a lot about the output of the players who were given a chance.

Lucas Alario scored in both fixtures against Germany and Ecuador, while Ocampos followed up his debut goal last week with another against Ecuador, with other players like German Pazzella, Rodrigo de Paul and Leandro Paredes also impressing.

Many Argentine fans fear for the day that Messi would be no more and rightly so, but the new generation of players coming through the Los Albiceleste ranks are showing that they could well step up to the plate in the stead of the Rosario icon.