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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Jonathan Gorrie

Lionel Messi hails Argentina form in ominous warning ahead of 2022 World Cup

Lionel Messi sent a warning to Argentina’s World Cup rivals after scoring all five goals in their 5-0 friendly win over Estonia.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward overtook Hungarian great Ferenc Puskás in the all-time international men’s top scorers list, with that haul taking him up to 86.

That followed his country’s impressive 3-0 win over Italy in the Finalissima - a game between the respective champions of South America and Europe - at Wembley on Wednesday.

It also marked the first time the 34-year-old has scored five goals in one international game and the second time in his career, after a similar feat in Barcelona’s 7-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in 2012.

Messi posted on Instagram: "We could not close the season better. We won the Finalissima and today we added more minutes preparing for the World Cup.

"Thanks again to everyone who came to the field and to those who follow us from a distance. We’re going to rest for a few days and we’ll be back very soon!"

Argentina have been drawn in Group C for this year’s World Cup in Qatar alongside Saudi Arabia - whom they play first on November 22 - Mexico and Poland.

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