DHAKA: Argentina easily beat Slovenia 2-0 in its last World Cup warm up with goals from Ricardo Alvarez and Lionel Messi on Saturday.

Alvarez put a second-string Argentina ahead in the first half with a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Messi, Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria came on in the second half and combined elegantly to double the lead in the 67th minute.

Aguero headed down a pass from Di Maria to set up Messi, who calmly slotted the ball past Slovenia goalkeeper Vid Belec.

Argentina, which is set to travel to Brazil on Monday, faces Bosnia-Herzegovina in its Group F opener on June 15. Slovenia didn’t qualify for the World Cup.

**The Burden of Being Messi 

BDST: 0905 HRS, JUNE 08, 2014