Lionel Messi scored his 91st international goal for Argentina during a warm-up match against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, Nov. 16 ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Argentina warmed up for the World Cup 2022 with a warmup match against the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, Nov. 16. Argentina extended their unbeaten winning streak to 36 games and defeated the United Arab Emirates for a score of 5-0, the Independent reported.
Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez opened Argentina's account in the 17th minute, finishing off a Messi low cross, smoothly flicking the ball past UAE's keeper Khalid Eisa. This was followed by two goals from Angel di Maria. The first goal came in the 26th minute and the second one in the 36th minute.
Messi then struck his 91st goal for his country just before the break. Minutes later, substitute Joaquin Correa latched onto a Rodrigo de Paul through pass and added a fifth goal in the 60th minute in front of a 36,000-capacity crowd.
Messi curled a free kick in the 78th minute. However, the free kick was a few inches wide. Meanwhile, Canedo missed two goal opportunities from close range.
Argentina will now fly to Doha where they kick off their World Cup campaign against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at Lusail Stadium, the42 reported.
Meanwhile, Croatia, runners-up in the 2018 World Cup, won Wednesday night’s match against Saudi Arabia for a 1-0 score in Riyadh. The winning goal was smashed in the 84th minute by substitute Andrej Kramaric.
Meanwhile, Niclas Fullkrug’s debut goal earned Germany a 1-0 victory over Oman in Muscat.
The tournament in Qatar is likely to be the final chance for Lionel Messi to equal the achievement of fellow Argentine great Diego Maradona.
Even though team Argentina is among the favorites to win the cup, Messi is cautious about the team’s chances in Qatar.
"We have a very nice group that is very eager, but we think about going little by little. We know that World Cup groups are not easy,” Messi, 35, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner said.
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