International Friendly: Argentina 4 Venezuela 1

Argentina thumped Venezuela 4-1 in their international friendly at the Estadio del Bicentenario in San Juan on Thursday.

Argentina, who will host the 43rd edition of the Copa America in July, inaugurated the newly competed stadium by slamming three goals past Venezuela in the second half.

Missing a clutch of international stars like Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano, Pablo Zabaleta and Javier Zanetti, Argentina fielded a young side composed entirely of players from the domestic league.

But their inexperience on the international stage mattered little, as Boca Juniors midfielder Cristian Chavez netted a bright opener for Argentina in just the 20th minute.

Anzoategui striker Daniel Arismendi levelled for Venezuela nine minutes later, but Chavez’s club team-mate Pablo Mouche restored the hosts’ advantage on 35 minutes and added a second eight minutes after the break.

Gimnasia La Plata midfielder Luciano Aued, who entered the game in the 10th minute, scored the fourth and final goal in the 75th minute for Argentina, who improve to 5-1 under manager Sergio Batista.