Lionel Messi looks more than ready for the World Cup in Qatar after starring in Argentina's 5-0 win over the United Arab Emirates.
Argentina kick off their campaign against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday 22 November and played a friendly at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium to prepare for the clash.
Angel di Maria bagged a brace, with Julian Alvarez, Messi and Joaquin Correa also on target in the rout.
Lionel Scaloni's side have now gone a whopping 36 games unbeaten and are closing in on the world record set by Italy.
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Messi set up Alvarez for the opener and struck his 91st goal for Argentina just before half-time.
He combined well with Di Maria and sent a defender to the shops before supplying an emphatic finish with his weaker right foot instead of his trusty left peg.
Granted the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was playing against fairly weak opposition but Messi, who played 90 minutes in the friendly, looked seriously in the mood.
Having not lost a game since 2019, Argentina are one of the favourites for the showpiece and their success will depend a lot on Messi and how he performs.
The World Cup is the one thing missing from the 35-year-old's trophy cabinet and would cap off a truly phenomenal career.
For a moment, Messi gave fans a real fright in the UAE win when he went down after hobbling following a tough tackle.
However, he did return to his feet fairly quickly and carried on strutting his stuff.
Days before that, Messi trolled his own teammates by faking an injury in training. Messi was seen clutching the back of his leg in what looked to be a hamstring problem.
Fortunately Messi was only messing because he then shared a laugh with teammate and personal bodyguard Rodrigo de Paul.
The PSG superstar believes Brazil, France and England are Argentina's main rivals for the tournament.
"Whenever we talk about candidates, we always talk about the same teams," Messi told CONMEBOL.
"If I have to put some above others I think Brazil, France and England are a little bit above the rest. But the World Cup is so difficult and so complicated that anything can happen."
As well as Saudi Arabia, Argentina will also face Mexico and Poland in Group C.
Topics: Argentina, Lionel Messi, Football World Cup
Josh Lawless