In an international friendly held in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the world champions Argentina fought back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Costa Rica 3-1 thanks to the heroics of Angel Di Maria (36), Alexis Mac Allister (25), and Lautaro Martinez (26).

The South American powerhouses concluded their two-game tour of the United States with a well-earned victory at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, despite the absence of injured captain Lionel Messi.

The team led by Lionel Scaloni defeated El Salvador 3-0 in Philadelphia on Friday. During the first half-hour, they controlled and created several good openings.

But following a forceful counterattack, Costa Rica took the lead 34 minutes in.

Walter Benitez, the goalie for Argentina, denied Alvaro Zamora’s low shot after he grabbed Manfred Ugalde’s pass.

But Ugalde’s rebound was invitingly placed in his way by Benitez’s save, and the score was 1-0.

Early in the second half, Argentina restored parity thanks to a brilliant equalizer from seasoned player Di Maria on minute 52.

The 36-year-old winger for Benfica struck an incredible free kick from just outside the box that went past Keylor Navas, the goalie for Costa Rica, and into the top corner.

Four minutes later, Argentina made it 2-1 with another set-piece.

Following a corner, Nicolas Tagliafico headed against the bar, but Mac Allister, a midfielder for Liverpool, was first to react, nodding in the rebound from close range.

In the 77th minute, Martinez, an Inter Milan attacker, secured the victory by finishing deftly over Navas after latching onto a wonderful through ball by Rodrigo De Paul.