Spain hammering equals record Argentina defeat

Argentina's 6-1 defeat to Spain in Tuesday's international friendly equalled the country's heaviest loss on a miserable night for Jorge Sampaoli's side in Madrid.

Nicolas Otamendi's goal six minutes before half-time looked to have put Argentina back in contention after early Spain strikes from Diego Costa and Isco but the South Americans – without five-time Ballon d'Or winner and captain Lionel Messi – collapsed in the second half.

On a night when Javier Mascherano equalled Javier Zanetti's Argentina caps record of 142, Sampaoli's men were found woefully short all over the field and Isco grabbed his second goal seven minutes into the second half, with Thiago Alcantara making it 4-1 moments later.

The scoreline was made emphatic inside two minutes when substitute Iago Aspas scored shortly before Isco completed his hat-trick and left Argentina's World Cup preparations in a sorry state.

The last time Argentina lost by five goals was a 6-1 drubbing to Bolivia in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, and they were previously beaten by the same scoreline by Czechoslovakia in 1958.

Tuesday's rout represented Spain's biggest win over a side with a World Cup win to their name.