Liverpool's Maxi Rodriguez scored twice as Argentina cruised to a 5-0 victory over Canada.

Rodriguez stars in friendly win

Liverpool's Maxi Rodriguez scored twice as Argentina continued their preparations for the World Cup with a 5-0 victory over Canada. Diego Maradona named a strong starting XI, with only Lionel Messi missing from the team that is expected to take to the field in Argentina's World Cup opener. Messi was rested after a long season with Barcelona but his absence was not felt as Argentina swept aside their limited opponents. Rodriguez opened the scoring with a free-kick on 16 minutes and then doubled Argentina's advantage 16 minutes later. Angel Di Maria made it 3-0 before the interval and Manchester City's Carlos Tevez then added a fourth midway through the second half. Sergio Aguero completed the rout in the 71st minute, moments after coming on as a substitute. Argentina kick off their Group B campaign against Nigeria on 12th June before facing South Korea five days later and then Greece on 22nd June.