The FIFA World Cup is just around the corner. The National teams have landed in the middle-east and have started training. Argentina did not get time for training instead, they got served a friendly match against the UAE on Wednesday at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.
Wednesday's 5-0 thrashing of the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi served as Argentina's World Cup warm-up, as a brace from Angel Di Maria and goals from Julian Alvarez, Lionel Messi, and Joaquin Correa stretched their unbeaten streak to 36 games.
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Julian Alvarez Scored His 3rd International Goal for Argentina.
Argentina seized the lead in the 17th minute thanks to a goal by Alvarez, who was set up by Messi after receiving a pass from Di Maria and finding himself with the goalie to beat.
Messi showed no selfishness at all setting up the Manchester City striker for his count of International goals. The front line of the Argentina Football team are lethal when they start to find each other.
Angel Di Maria Returned From Injury to Score a Brace.
Eight minutes later, Di Maria increased Argentina's advantage with a beautiful volley after Marcos Acuna crossed the ball in from the left side. The two-time World Cup champions found their rhythm ahead of the competition, which gets underway in Qatar on Sunday.
The striker scored in the 36th minute as Argentina humiliated their opponents. The forward, who overcame a hamstring injury last month to be included in manager Lionel Scaloni's World Cup team, dribbled past multiple UAE defenders and slotted home.
Following a pass from Di Maria, Messi joined the celebration a minute before halftime with a beautiful strike into the corner, and substitute Correa completed the thrashing in the 60th minute with a goal that was deflected.
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Romero, Gomes, and Dybala Were not Part of the Squad Due to Illness.
Nicolas Gonzalez, Alejandro Gomez, and Paulo Dybala, along with defender Cristian Romero, were not present for the match on Wednesday because they were all still suffering from "some discomfort," according to Scaloni.
We have a few issues, and we have a few days to decide on the list, Scaloni told reporters. "We can change, hopefully not, but there is a potential," he added.
I don't mean to imply that they will be removed from the list.
Some players are ill, and they weren't included in the team today because they weren't ready to play or there was a risk. There is a reason they weren't included, so we need to exercise caution.
Argentina are favorites to lift the trophy at the end of the FIFA World Cup. The two champions have a strong squad. The passion and determination to win the FIFA World Cup is very similar to the squad of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.