Argentina may have lost 1-0 to Portugal on Tuesday but a nine-day trip to England that ended with a fine performance at Old Trafford has given coach Gerardo Martino hope for the future.

Argentina dominated Portugal, especially in the first half when Lionel Messi faced Cristiano Ronaldo for the 27th time before they both bowed out at half-time.

“We held supremacy over our rivals in all aspects of the game and were only beaten in the final result,” Martino told reporters.

“Over both halves we ran the game, had a lot of possession, created the most chances and I think we were only under threat on two occasions.”

Argentina showed what Martino is looking for from his team, a quick-passing possession game with fast thrusts forward which reflected in their performances in England after they beat Croatia 2-1 six days ago.

Beto was by far the busier goalkeeper but Portugal snatched the victory with substitute Raphael Guerreiro’s added time header.

The match, billed as a Messi-Ronaldo clash, lost most of its allure when the pair did not emerge for the second half.

“I don’t know why Ronaldo (only played the first half) but we had planned with Lionel that he should only take part in 45 minutes,” Martino said.

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