Argentina captain Lionel Messi runs past Paulinho, of Brazil, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli insists there is more to come from his side after their 1-0 win over Brazil.

Gabriel Mercado’s first-half goal earned Argentina victory in Melbourne in Sampaoli’s first game in charge on Friday.

Sampaoli is Argentina’s third coach in their World Cup qualifying campaign, with the team currently fifth in the South American qualifying group - with only the top-four teams guaranteed to make next year’s tournament in Russia.

But the former Sevilla coach was pleased with their friendly win over big rivals Brazil.

“In the overall analysis I value the enthusiasm and attitude of the players. It is very encouraging to beat Brazil because it is a classic for us,” he said.

“Winning against Brazil is very important. You did not play a match just to meet, but to win. The players knew how to defend the jersey of the national team.

“I highly value the effort to try to dump an idea on the field with so little preparation time. It was not easy to play with the high pressure of Brazil.

“There were normal mistakes that I expected. What I rescued most from the game are the intentions.

“If I said that everything went as planned, I would be exaggerating. We are starting a stage, we have to improve a lot.”

Gabriel Jesus and Willian hit the post for Brazil in the second half while Angel Di Maria also struck the woodwork for Argentina early on.

Defeat was Brazil’s first under Tite, who has already guided them to qualification for next year’s World Cup.

“The feeling is bad to lose, we have to absorb it. I have to know how to absorb it, but also evaluate these aspects of performance,” he told a press conference.

“The first half was more balanced, with difficulty mainly on the left with Di Maria. We managed to neutralise Paulo Dybala and Lionel Messi.

“We had balance and opportunities for both sides. In the second half we created more but we did not have more effectiveness, so we lost.”