Minus Messi, Argentina too meek

MADRID - Argentina's Lionel Messi looked on from the stands for as long as he could, but with 10 minutes remaining he had seen enough.

Cameras captured the injured captain leaving his seat, presumably to head for the locker room to console his teammates, but the image was symbolic as his country was humiliated 6-1 by rampaging Spain on Tuesday.

"They've really given us a slap in the face," was how stunned Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli summed up the humiliating World Cup warm-up defeat in his postmatch media conference.

"I feel bad for the boys, I take the responsibility. In the second half we didn't have balance or solidity and we were all at sea."

On what was supposed to be a historic night for Argentina captain Javier Mascherano, who tied Javier Zanetti with 142 caps as their country's record appearance holders, things quickly turned sour as Diego Costa, Thiago and Iago Aspas also found the net.

It made uneasy viewing for Sampaoli and emphasized more than ever how reliant his side is on Messi, who has been struggling with a muscle problem.

Should the Barcelona forward be missing at any point during this year's finals in Russia, Argentina is likely to struggle judging by their meek surrender at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in the Spanish capital.

Without Messi on the pitch there was room for someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck, and Real Madrid's outstanding Isco filled the void.

The diminutive midfielder dictated play from the center of the pitch as Spain ruthlessly exploited the high Argentine defensive line.

"I'm not going to discover anything else about how much I like Isco and having him here with us," Spain coach Julen Lopetegui said.

"We've beaten a team with a strong history who got to the final of the last World Cup. Obviously, once we're there you start from scratch and they had a couple of important absentees but we're happy - it's a real match and a deserved win."

Argentina's capitulation followed a 2-0 victory over Italy on Friday, a match Messi also missed. The Italians, though, will not be in Russia after failing to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1958 after a 1-0 playoff loss to Sweden.

Argentina was also without Paris Saint-Germain's Angel di Maria and Manchester City's Sergio Aguero on Tuesday, but, when it came to the crunch, the players wilted.

So often Messi is the team's get-out-of-jail card.

It was Messi who fired a hat-trick in Argentina's final qualifier against Ecuador - after it went 1-0 down inside the first minute - to secure its spot at the finals.

Without the 30-year-old in Madrid, Argentina offered little going forward.

It makes Sampaoli's decision to omit forwards Mauro Icardi of Inter Milan and Paulo Dybala of Juventus from his squad for the friendlies look all the more strange.

Argentina also has problems on defense, while neither of its goalkeepers - Sergio Romero (Manchester United) and Willy Caballero (Chelsea) - are first-choice with their clubs.

"Argentina is going to be living in torment from now until the World Cup," former international Jorge Valdano said on Spanish radio station Onda Cero.

"Messi's the only reason that anyone is even giving Argentina a sliver of hope of winning the World Cup. (Striker) Gonzalo Higuain is a marked man in Argentina and I wouldn't like to be in Sampaoli's shoes either."

Some pundits have suggested that Messi cannot be considered a truly great player until he leads his country to victory in a major tournament.

On Tuesday's evidence, simply qualifying Argentina for the finals, where it will face Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria in Group D, seems like a great achievement in itself.

Reuters