Argentina beat Honduras 2-0 on Saturday in their second-to-last friendly before the FIFA World Cup begins on June 11.
A raucous Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, cheered Argentina loudly throughout the match, but were likely disappointed as the team's talisman Lionel Messi remained on the bench as he recovers from muscle fatigue.
Lautaro Martínez got the scoring going from the penalty spot for the defending World Cup champions in the 37th minute after a clumsy foul on Nicolás Tagliafico earned Argentina a spot kick.
Atlético Madrid attacker Giuliano Simeone scored to double Argentina's lead early in the second half, with Lautaro's clever backheel setting up his teammate for a close-range finish.
Scaloni made a host of changes soon after Simeone's goal, but Messi was not one of them. The 38-year-old star sustained a minor injury on May 25 while playing his last match with Inter Miami before joining the national team.
Prior to the game, Scaloni said of Messi: "Leo is doing well. Leo trained for a part with the group [on Friday], which is important. He's not fully separated; he's coming along. He may be part of the friendly matches, getting some minutes in these two friendlies. We'll see if it's the one tomorrow or the next one.
"But he's doing a lot better and that gives us tranquility."
Argentina begin play in Group J against Algeria on June 16, before facing Austria and Jordan. Piror to that, Scaloni's side will face Iceland on June 9 in its final friendly before the World Cup.
ESPN's Lizzy Becherano contributed to this recap.
Source: https://www.espn.com/soccer/report/_/gameId/401868047