Argentina were never in any danger during their 3-0 friendly win against Jamaica on Tuesday, played at a neutral site in the United States' Red Bull Arena.

Alvarez opened the scoring in the 13th minute thanks to some terrific work from Lautaro Martinez, who was able to snake his way into the box, beating multiple defenders to get to the touchline and drag one back along the edge of the six-yard box for a simple tap-in.

Argentina continued to create half-chances throughout the remainder of the first half, and it was more of the same to begin the second 45, with Martinez going close after a slick one-touch pass from Alexis Mac Allister gave him some space inside the box, but he pushed his shot wide of the far-post.

Lionel Messi was subbed on in the 56th minute, and just 10 minutes later he had his first chance after a one-two on the edge of the area allowed him to break into the left-hand side of the box, but his shot from a sharp angle was easily thwarted at the near post.

But fans in attendance would get what they came for in the 87th minute, when Messi picked up a deflected pass just outside the penalty area and fired his left-foot shot hard and low across his body into the bottom-right corner.

Just two minutes later Argentina were awarded a free kick in the same spot, and Messi again converted, this time around the wall into the bottom-left corner.

What does it mean? Argentina now two games away from history

With this result, Argentina are now unbeaten in their past 35 games dating back to their loss in the 2019 Copa America semi-final against Brazil. 

Italy holds the record at 37 games without a loss – which they set just last year. Argentina's next two games will be in the World Cup against Saudi Arabia and Mexico, and if they make it through unscathed, they will play Poland for the new record.

Messi the super sub

Despite only playing 35 minutes, Messi led all players with five shots, four shots on target and three successful dribbles. Only Alvarez (three) created more chances than Messi's two, and he scored two goals for his second consecutive international fixture after also netting a double against Honduras this past weekend.

Reid struggles with Argentinian physicality

Bobby Reid had a difficult outing down the left-hand side, being credited with only two duels won from 11 tries – the lowest percentage on the pitch. He also had a passing accuracy of 77 per cent, which was one of the lowest marks from either side, while attempting no shots and creating no chances.

What's next? 

Argentina will take their unbeaten streak into the World Cup, where they will play Saudi Arabia first up. Jamaica do not have any fixtures scheduled until March's CONCACAF Nations League.

 Jamaica Reggae Boy forward Leon Bailey is convinced the unit can produce plenty of quality once they get things right, but admittedly expects a tough outing against Argentina.

The Jamaicans will clash with Argentina, at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, for only the fourth time in the team’s history and the debut outing for new head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, who officially took over the post last week.

The Reggae Boyz have lost all three previous encounters but performed creditably in the team’s last meeting at the 2015 Copa America Centenario, where they narrowly lost 1-0 to the Lionel Messi-led outfit.  Bailey is looking forward to his first taste of the high-profile fixture.

“There are a lot of quality players in the team, we just need to put together, obviously it’s a system that the coach will be improvising but we should be able to do good things and hopefully come away with a result,” Bailey said.

“It’s going to be a good game, the first game for the manager as well, but it should be exciting for everybody playing against a good opponent and I think we just have to be focused and work hard for the whole game.”

Reggae Boyz starting line-up

Andre Blake

Leon Bailey

Daniel Johnson

Ravel Morrison

Shamar Nicholson

Bobby Reid

Damion Lowe

Michael Antonio

Adrian Mariappa

Javain Brown

Amari'i Bell

Jamaican Olympic and World Champion Veronica Campbell Brown is now a mother of two after giving birth to her son, Zane Lucas Brown, on September 20.

Campbell Brown, who also has a daughter with husband and fellow former sprinter Omar Brown, made the announcement on her Instagram page on Tuesday.

Campbell Brown, 40, won back-to-back Olympic 200m gold medals in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008 as well as a 100m gold medal at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. She also won 200m World Championship gold in 2011 in Daegu.

Newly appointed Jamaica Reggae Boyz head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson is hoping to conduct a valuable assessment during the team’s upcoming friendly international against Argentina.

The Reggae Boyz and the Albiceleste, led by football superstar Lionel Messi, will lock horns at the Red Bulls Stadium in New York, on Tuesday, for the fourth time in history.  Hallgrímsson, who officially took charge of the team last week, admits the former world champions are a difficult prospect to face on his debut but hopes to gleam some valuable insights.

“It going to be a good contest and at least we’ll know where we stand and what we need to improve," Hallgrímsson said.

“For me, it’s a time to learn, a time to observe, time to evaluate.  Then after this camp, we can see what we need to change if we need to change anything.  Find out what is working and what is not working.”

In three matches Jamaica has not managed to secure a result against Argentina losing all three matches that the teams have played.

Waterhouse defender Ricardo Thomas has been drafted in to replace injured Ipswich Town defender Greg Leigh ahead of Jamaica’s friendly international against Argentina.

Leigh was expected to join up with the rest of the team in the United States on Friday but suffered an injury in the team’s 2-2 draw against Sheffield Wednesday earlier this week.  Initially, the defender was thought to have just suffered a bruise to the area but subsequent scans revealed a compression fracture.

The injury is now expected to keep the player out of action for an extended spell.

“He, unfortunately, picked something up at the back end of the Sheffield Wednesday game, which was initially thought to be bone bruising,” the team’s manager Kieran McKenna said.

“At that point, it was touch-and-go whether he was going to go away for international duty.

 “He’s had some scans this week, just to make sure, and unfortunately he has a compression fracture of his leg and will be out for a longer period of time. That’s a disappointing one for Greg and for us as well," he added.

The 29-year-old has made 8 appearances for the Jamaica national team and last played against Honduras in March.  Thomas has played 10 matches for the national team and was last on the bench in the team’s Nation’s League match against Mexico in June.

Titans Track Club coach and former Olympian Michael Frater is confident his new charge Briana Williams will be able to make the transition from star junior to successful senior, despite admitting that it has been difficult for former junior stars in the past.

The 20-year-old Williams recently announced the decision to part ways with long-time coach Ato Boldon and join Frater and Gregory Little at Titans.  As a junior, Williams was a world champion in both the 100m and 200m.  Since turning pro in 2020, however, the athlete has failed to engineer anything close to similar success at the senior level.

Williams has made both the Olympics and World Championship teams, going on to win 4x100m relay gold, but has only managed to secure a spot in the relay pool to date and missed out on individual appearances.  At the Jamaica national trials, earlier this year, her time of 10.94, a new personal best, was only good enough for fourth spot.

In track and field, it isn’t uncommon for junior stars to fail to make the grade at the senior level but Frater believes Williams has the mindset to join the likes of Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown as world juniors champions who went on to excel at the senior level.

“It’s hard for a lot of these athletes that do great things at young ages, a lot of them never surpass what they do,” Frater told the SportsMax Zone.

“That's why most people will tell you that they prefer athletes who weren’t teeing off at a young age,” he added.

“I think with Briana’s attitude and dedication, though, it won’t be a problem for her transitioning to the next level, and as coach Ato said he may not have been able to spend enough time with her.  For an athlete to be a world-class athlete she has to get the full attention that she needs.”

Jamaica defender Curtis Tilt admits to being excited by the prospect of facing legendary Argentinian Lionel Messi and the rest of a start-studded South American squad, ahead of the team’s clash in New York next week.

The 31-year-old was a late addition to the team that will face the Argentineans on Tuesday.  The defender has not represented the team since June of last year against Serbia but will hope to make his case under new Jamaica coach Heimir Hallgrímsson.  Tilt, who plays for English Championship team Wigan Athletic, is enjoying a whirlwind year having secured promotion from League One with the team at the start of the season.

Now he is excited at the prospect of not just returning to the country’s line-up, but also facing one of the best players in history and added to that a first-time trip to the Big Apple.

  "I'm buzzing to be fair, not only to be selected for my country but playing against the best player in the world really," Tilt told Wigan Today.

"I was called up late, so I've not had much to process it yet. I'm sure I'll get more anxious nearer the time, wondering what it's like to play against the very best,” he added.

"But New York as well...I've never actually been, I was thinking of going out during the winter break.

"It's come a little bit early, so hopefully we'll get a chance to have a look round at some of the sights."

Olympic sprint relay gold medallist Briana Williams is about to launch a new chapter of her track and field career under the guidance of new coaches to begin the 2022/2023 track season.

Club cricket in Jamaica had been dormant for two years due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From May 7-June 9 this year, the Jamaica Cricket Association staged the All-Island Limited Overs competition, ending a long wait for the return of club cricket in the country.

That two-year hiatus affected many of the prominent cricket clubs around the island, including The Melbourne Cricket Club.

Since its inception in 1892, the club has been synonymous with winning and has produced many cricketers who have gone on to represent the region at the highest level including Courtney Walsh, Michael Holding, Marlon Samuels, Robert Samuels, Carlton Baugh Jr, Donovan Pagon and Nikita Miller to name a few.

“For starters, Melbourne is a cricket club and we attract patrons mostly through cricket; be it players, spectators and/or fans. Closing our doors for two years resulted in a loss of the vibrancy of the club as well as the recruitment of young players,” said James Stewart, team manager at Melbourne.

“Currently, the players who represent the club are those who have been around for some time,” he added.

The Derrymore Road-based club also won the last edition of the Limited Overs tournament in 2019 but failed to pass the preliminary round this year.

“Our team failing to progress to the next round was down to several factors. Firstly, we did not execute our plans in the first three games. As a result, we had to play ‘catch up.’ Secondly, several players in our ranks had overseas assignments and that left the team weakened,” Stewart said.

The Jamaica Defence Force came away winners of that title after a tense two-wicket victory over St. Mary at Sabina Park.

Melbourne will be aiming to rebound from that disappointment with success in the ongoing JCA T20 Bashment which began on September 4 and will end on October 9.

The team has so far gone unbeaten in their first five matches of the preliminary round, recording three wins and two no results and with their final two group games coming this weekend, the club stands a good chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.

“Based on our team structure, we have a good chance of winning this ongoing T20 Bashment. Currently, we have not lost a game and we have only dropped points because of the weather. Most of pour players are in good batting form and the bowling is improving weekly,” said Stewart who is also coaching the team in the tournament due to the absence of regular head coach Nikita Miller who is on assignment with the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League.

“Additionally, we have had some bolstering to our ranks in terms of our bowling. These additions will go a far way in terms of how effectively and efficiently we execute our plans throughout this tournament,” he added.

As the global squash fraternity embarks on raising awareness for the sport, President of the Jamaica Squash Association Karen Anderson wants more women to be involved with the sport.

Newly appointed Reggae Boyz head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson believes his first order of business is to develop a national philosophy on how Jamaican wants to play football.

Jamaica goalkeeper Andre Blake has once again been named to Major League Soccer’s Team of the Week.

The 31-year-old shot-stopper has been in inspired form for Major League Soccer (MLS) club Philadelphia Union so far this season and claimed his spot in goal for week 32’s best selection, with another inspired performance.

The custodian was at his very best in a draw at Atlanta United FC on the weekend and made at least 5 big saves to earn his team a share of the spoils.  In truth, the Union found themselves on the back foot for most of the encounter.

Perhaps his biggest and most important save came in second-half stoppage time as Atlanta found its all-time leading goalscorer alone at the back post but Blake was there for the close-range reaction stop to keep Josef Martinez from unlocking the tie.

On the back of another outstanding season, the Jamaican is firmly in the running for the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year honours, an award that he won in both 2016 and 2020.  Earlier this month, the player achieved another significant milestone for the Philadelphia Union after reaching 200 appearances.

Rusea’s, Frome Technical, Clarendon College and Dinthill Technical all secured massive wins on a goal-filled Saturday in the ISSA/Digicel daCosta Cup.

Dinthill were the biggest winners on the day, putting 10 past Enid Bennett without reply at home to move to a perfect nine points from three games and maintain their spot atop Zone K. In Saturday’s other Zone K matches, Charlemont got a 2-0 win over McGrath at home while Guys Hill beat Ewarton 2-0 at Tacky High.

At Clarendon College, the hosts opened their campaign with a 7-0 win over Kellits High. The early leaders in Zone H, however, are Edwin Allen High who got their second win in as many games with a 4-1 win over Lennon High at Lennon.

Rusea’s and Frome were both in dominant form in Zone B with 7-0 and 9-0 wins over Hopewell and Merlene Ottey, respectively. Rusea’s now have two wins from two games to lead the zone while that was the first game for Frome.

In a Zone M double header at Glenmuir High, the hosts got a 3-1 win over Denbigh shortly after Central High got by Tacius Golding 4-1.

In Zone O, Port Antonio secured a 5-0 win over Fair Prospect at Carder Park.

In Zone A, Green Pond scored a shock 2-1 win over Cornwall College to get their second win and move to the top of the zone. St. James High beat Anchovy 2-0 at Jarrett Park in the other Zone A fixture.

In an exciting Zone C encounter at Muschett High, the hosts suffered a 3-4 defeat at the hands of Herbert Morrison. William Knibb won their season opener 3-0 win over Spot Valley at home.

In Zone D, Manning’s moved to nine points from three games with a 3-1 win over Godfrey Stewart while, at the Crawford Sports Complex, Belmont Academy got on the win column 1-0 over Grange Hill.

STETHS also moved to three wins from as many games in Zone E with a 2-0 win over Maggotty at home. The other zone encounter saw Munro College get their second win with a 1-0 home triumph over Lacovia.

Both Zone G fixtures ended in stalemates. At Alphansus Davis High, the hosts played out a 1-1 draw with Holmwood Technical while Christiana and Alston drew 2-2 at Christiana.

In Zone I, Ocho Rios beat Oracabessa 3-2 at Clemhard’s Park while there were no goals between Browns Town and York Castle at Addison Park.

There were also nine matches played on Friday.

In Zone J, Horace Clarke secured a 3-1 win over St. Mary High at the Highgate Community Centre to move to seven points from three games and lead the zone. At the Westmoreland Oval, Annotto Bay beat Wycliffe Martin High 3-0 while Tacky and St. Mary Tech drew 2-2 at Tacky.

In Zone L, Paul Bogle moved to nine points from three games with a 3-1 win over Seaforth at York Oval. At Eastern Banana Complex, St. Thomas Tech got a 4-0 win over Robert Lightbourne while Yallahs beat Morant Bay 3-0 at Yallahs.

In Zone N, Vere Technical beat Kemps Hill 2-0 at home to move to six points from two games. Foga Road won their season opener 2-0 over Winston Jones at home.

In Friday’s only Zone O game, Titchfield and Happy Grove played out a 0-0 draw at Carder Park.

Action continues Monday with four games. Sydney Pagon will battle B.B Coke at home in Zone E.

The other three matches will be in Zone L as Morant Bay and Paul Bogle will square off at Morant Bay, Seaforth battle Robert Lightbourne at Seaforth and Yallahs will host St. Thomas Tech.

30-time champions Jamaica College were held to a 0-0 draw by St. Catherine High in their ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup fixture at the Spanish Town Prison Oval on Friday.

JC are now second in Group B with one win and a draw in their first two games. Group leaders St. Jago High got their second win in as many games with a 5-1 win over hosts, St. Mary’s College. In the group’s other game, Cedar Grove were beaten 1-0 at home by Holy Trinity.

In Group E, Mona High beat Hydel 3-1 at Royal Lakes to move to six points and lead the group on goal difference. Wolmer’s Boys are also unbeaten so far after securing a 2-0 win over Kingston High at Breezy Castle. Camperdown and Papine High played out a 1-1 draw at the Alpha Institute in the group’s other clash.

In Saturday’s Group D fixtures, STATHS got their second win with a comprehensive 5-0 win over Dunoon at home while Norman Manley beat Tarrant 1-0 at Maxfield Park.

Action continues on Tuesday with 10 matches. In Group F, Jose Marti will host Kingston Technical, Clan Carthy will take on Excelsior at the Alpha Institute while Cumberland will host Campion College.

In Group C, Haile Selassie will visit Tivoli, Charlie Smith will take on Edith Dalton James at the Tony Spalding Sports Complex while Vauxhall will take on Bridgeport at home.

Tarrant will host Dunoon in the lone Group D fixture.

In Group E, Hydel will tackle Kingston High at Royal Lakes, Papine will host Wolmer’s Boys while St. Catherine and St. Jago will do battle at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.

Former Jamaica national football footballer Christopher Zaidie died on Sunday after a bout with cancer. He was 55.

Between the 1980s and 1990s, Zaidie, a midfielder, was a staple in local football in Jamaica.

As a member of the St. George’s College Manning Cup team between 1980 and 1984, Zaidie was teammates with the likes of Ziggy Marley, Andrew Price, Christopher Morgan, Michael Forbes, Nicholas Zaidie, Brian Hamilton and Garfield Pearcy. Under the guidance of the late coach Dennis Zaidie, he won the coveted triple twice – Manning Cup, Nutrament Shield, and Olivier Shield in 1983 and the Manning Cup, Walker Cup and Olivier Shield in 1984.

Dennis Zaidie and Jackie Bell, who coached Premier League club Santos, would perish in a motor vehicle accident in Mexico in 1986 having gone there to watch a match in the FIFA World Cup.

Chris would go on to represent Jamaica during the 1994 World Cup campaign, playing six matches between 1992 and 1993.

Price, who is now the head coach at Jamaica Premier League club Humble Lion and three-time Manning Cup champions Calabar High School, has been close friends with Zaidie since they played against each other in Alberga Cup football in the late 1970s– Zaidie for St Peter and Paul, Price for Alpha.

“Chris was more than a teammate, he was a friend and a brother and somebody who I could depend on and he could on me,” Price recalled of Zaidie, who at the time of his death worked as a teacher in Miramar, Florida.

“We were close from we were kids and played Alberga Cup football. We ended up at George’s and as schoolboys played for Kingston Lions in the now defunct Caribbean semi-professional league and Boys Town FC.”

Zaidie is survived by his wife Debbie and two children.