With the World Cup just around the corner, while Ronaldo missed Portugal's training and upcoming warm-up games due to gastrointestinal discomfort, Argentina continued its good form.
In the early morning of the 17th, at the Sheikh Said Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Argentina defeated the United Arab Emirates 5-0 away in the warm-up match, and Messi also scored.
Messi scored and Argentina won 5-0
Against the UAE, Messi scored a goal, Di Maria scored 2 and 1 pass, and Alvarez and Joaquín Correa scored one goal each.
In the 17th minute, Messi single-handedly crossed and Alvarez shot into the bottom left corner from 10 yards. In the 44th minute, Di Maria passed the ball and Messi forced a shot from 10 yards on the right side of the box into the far corner, 4-0.
According to statistics, this is Messi's 165th national team match, and he contributed his 91st goal and 50th assist.
In 2022, Messi played a total of 44 games for club and country, scoring 28 goals, assisting 27 times and directly involved in 55 goals - Messi averaged 1.25 goals per game this year.
According to statistics, Messi has participated in 831 club first-team matches, participated in 165 national team matches, and played a total of 996 games. If Argentina qualifies in the World Cup group stage, Messi will reach the 1,000-game career milestone in the first knockout match.
Since losing 2-0 to Brazil in the 2019 Copa America semifinals, Argentina are now unbeaten in 36 consecutive matches.
In the history of international football, only the Italian team in 2018-2021 has a 37-game unbeaten streak longer than the current consecutive unbeaten run of this Argentina team.
However, Argentina is not without its troubles. According to Argentine media analysis, Dybala, Gomez, González and Romero are all likely to lose due to injury.
FIFA has mandated teams to adjust the final roster 24 hours before the World Cup opener, and coach Scaloni admitted: "There are still some minor issues and we still have a few days to finalize the list." ”
'There are a couple of players who missed the squad today because they weren't fit to play and we didn't want to take that risk.
Phil Kruger scored as Germany narrowly beat Oman 1-0
In the early morning of the 17th, with substitute center Phil Kruger scoring the only goal of the game in the 80th minute of the game, Germany defeated Asian team Oman 1-0 in the warm-up match.
Statistics show that Germany have won their last warm-up games before the last 11 World Cups, and they have reached five finals in these 11 World Cups, while other teams have reached only three finals in the same period.
At 29 years and 280 days, Phil Kruger is also the oldest non-goalkeeper in Germany to make his debut in nearly 20 years. 'I think the whole team played well in the second half and was happy to score and help the team win.'
In the absence of key strikers such as Timo Werner and Nmecha, Phil Kruger has high hopes for this World Cup, admitting that "I have to stay sane and put a game like today's in perspective, and the real work is only now officially beginning." ”
However, Frick was cautious about whether Phil Kruger would start against Japan, "I tell the players, you all need to prove that you are ready for the World Cup in Qatar. Phil Kruger proved this today, and his presence is strong. We still have a few days to make a decision, and I don't want to reveal too much. ”
Frick was not satisfied with the course and result: "We didn't have the level of confrontation we expected in the World Cup, but it's understandable that the players don't want to risk injury. Overall, the desired goals were achieved. ”