Spain 6-1 Argentina: Isco hat-trick inspires thrashing with Lionel Messi watching on from the stands as Spain fire a warning to rivals ahead of World Cup
Spain hit Argentina for six with a hat-trick from Isco and goals from Diego Costa, Iago Aspas and Thiago Alcantara.
It was an embarrassing defeat for an Argentina side desperately missing the injured Lionel Messi but Chelsea's Alvaro Morata could yet be the biggest loser.
He now has a mountain to climb to make the plane for Russia with Costa opening the scoring and Aspas inspired in the second half.
Argentina, on this evidence, don't have a prayer unless Messi reaches Russia fully fit and ready to perform miracles.
Costa bulldozed the ball over the line on 12 minutes to give Spain the lead from Marco Asensio's assist.
It was a classic Costa goal. He clashed with Manchester United keeper Sergio Romero and received lengthy treatment. He finally hobbled back on to huge applause before sprinting to the next loose ball.
With Costa set for Russia, Morata must now move back ahead of Rodrigo Moreno, who scored against Germany last Friday, and Aspas who was superb in the second half.
Argentina were not helping themselves in the first half, trying to play out from the back with Manchester United's Marcos Rojo and Manchester City's Nicola Otamendi combining. They were caught out for both early goals.
Lionel Messi missed the match through injury, instead watching on from a box at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid. Without their main man, Argentina shipped six against Spain, and with 13 minutes remaining of the match, Messi had seen enough. Leaving his seat next to West Ham's Manuel Lanzini, the Barcelona star said his goodbyes and was on his way...