Lionel Messi Argentina
Lionel Messi is expected to feature from the start for Argentina in their international friendly against MexicoReuters

After thrashing Bolivia in their last friendly, Argentina will want to put on another attacking show when they face Mexico in Texas on Friday.

Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Ezequiel Lavezzi grabbed a double each while Angel Correa added another as Argentina ran riot in Houston, thumping Bolivia 7-0.

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Messi only played the last 25 minutes of the match against Bolivia, but the Argentina maestro is expected to feature from the start against Mexico at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

"We had to think carefully about him because he has played a lot of games," Martino said of Messi, who was almost obligated to come on in the second half as the crowd in Houston demanded to see the footballing superstar. "Luckily, in a short time, he made it worth the price of admission."

While the Bolivia match was a no-contest, Mexico are expected to give more competition to Argentina, and Martino thinks that might be a good thing, considering the 2018 World Cup qualifiers are set to start next month.

"We had a good performance as individuals, but we are interested to see how well we can play collectively," the former Barcelona manager said. "We hold Mexico in high regard, and the team has grown considerably in the last 20 years, with great tournament outings, and have many players in Europe."

Martino also admitted he will make quite a few changes to the team that beat Bolivia, so it will be interesting to see who all come in.

"On Tuesday we will see how the team changes," Martino said. "The idea is to play everyone, but I have not yet decided my team.

"[Ezequiel] Garay, [Pablo] Zabaleta, [Lucas] Biglia, [Javier] Pastore, [Gonzalo] Higuain and [Angel] Di Maria are in my squad but I will have to see how they recover from their injuries."

Mexico are a team still finding themselves after the coaching changes, and new manager Ricardo Ferretti happy with the team's last performance, a 3-3 draw with Trinidad & Tobago.

"Naturally, there are things to improve, but in general the team coped well," Ferretti said about the match against Trinidad & Tobago. "I take good conclusions. I'm satisfied.

"It would've been much better to have won the game for confidence, but I have good conclusions right now."

Where to Watch Live

Mexico vs Argentina is set to begin at 9 pm local time (7.30 am IST, 3 am BST, 10 pm ET). There is no live coverage on TV or online in India and the UK.

The international friendly can be watched live by viewers in the US on ESPN2, with the live stream option on Watch ESPN. Viewers in Argentina can catch watch their national team live on TYC Sports.

Audience can catch Argentina vs Mexico live in Australia on Bein Sports, while the action can also watched via live streaming online on Bein Sports Connect.