Wednesday's 5-0 demolition of the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi served as Argentina's World Cup warm-up

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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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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.

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The audience at Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium cheered Argentina on.

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Eight minutes later, Di Maria increased Argentina's advantage with a beautiful volley after Marcos Acuna crossed the ball in from the left side.

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The two-time World Cup champions found their rhythm ahead of the competition, which gets underway in Qatar on Sunday.

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The striker scored in the 36th minute as Argentina humiliated their opponents.

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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.

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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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