Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli felt his side showed some promising signs as they beat Italy 2-0 without Lionel Messi in a friendly in Manchester.

Five-times world player of the year Messi sat out the pre-World Cup outing at the Etihad Stadium as a precaution because of a muscle problem.

He watched from the stands, alongside injured Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, as Argentina upped the tempo after a pedestrian first half to win with late goals from Ever Banega and Manuel Lanzini.

Sampaoli said: "The team showed a lot of stability for much of the game and took advantage of the virtues of the players who played.

"We now have to build on the good work we generated. The group is developing.''

Argentina upped the tempo and ran away from Italy in the second half. Photo by Manchester City FC/Man City via Getty Images

Argentina only secured their place in Russia 2018 in the final round of qualifying fixtures but they will be rated among the favourites.

Sampaoli was particularly pleased with the performance of Juventus' Gonzalo Higuain, who was at the heart of a lot of their good attacking play.

He said: "Higuain led a lot of attacks and played the pass for the second goal very well.''

The downside for Sampaoli was the loss of Angel Di Maria with a thigh injury. The Paris Saint-Germain player will now not travel to Madrid for next Tuesday's friendly against Spain.

Aguero will also not be involved with the group as he stays at City to continue his recovery.