Dublin: Argentina interim coach Sergio Batista strengthened his case to be given the job full time on Wednesday when his team won a friendly 1-0 at Ireland.
Angel di Maria scored the first goal at Dublin's new National Stadium with a 20th-minute lob over goalkeeper Shay Given.
Ireland's players claimed it should have been ruled out because the winger was offside when he collected Gonzalo Higuain's neat flick on the ground from a goal kick. But the goal was awarded to give Batista victory in his first game in charge.
Batista is Argentina's youth team coach and is in temporary charge of the senior squad after Diego Maradona was fired following an inquest into the 4-0 World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Germany.
Batista has said he has the backing of leading players, including Lionel Messi, who shone intermittently on Wednesday.
Messi, who was part of the 2008 Olympic side that won gold in Beijing under Batista, was ruled offside in the 13th but his attempt to lift the ball over Given was blocked by the goalkeeper anyway.
"It was one of those nights," Ireland captain Robbie Keane said. "We couldn't get near them, to be honest. They're some of the best players in the world."
Batista's starting lineup contained eight of the 11 players who began the 4-0 World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Germany, with Fernando Gago and Ever Banega making the team after being left out of the World Cup squad by Maradona.
Walter Samuel, an unused substitute against Germany, was the other change.
Keane played alone up front on his 100th appearance for Ireland, collecting his cap in a special on-field ceremony before kickoff, but had little impact upon a solid visiting defense.
"We didn't really create a lot of chances," Keane said. "It wasn't the best game for us but we can take some positives."
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