GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) - Argentina doesn't just score goals, it crafts works of art.

Three first-half strikes, two by Maxi Rodriguez and another by substitute Esteban Cambiasso, led Argentina to a 6-0 victory Friday over Serbia-Montenegro in Group C. Hernan Crespo made it 4-0 in the 78th, and youngsters Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi finished off the biggest rout in the tournament so far.

Two-time champion Argentina, which opened the World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast, will reach the round of 16 if the Netherlands wins or draws later Friday against the Ivorians.

"This was an incredible performance," Rodriguez said.

The loss eliminated the Serbs.

Argentine fans, starting to sense something special may be unfolding, were deafening in FC Schalke's closed-roof stadium, with chants of "Ole, Ole" and "AR-gen-tina, AR-gen-tina."

Another screaming serenade, with Diego Maradona swirling a blue and white jersey above his head and joining in, also rang out over and over: "We're going to leave as champions, just like in '86."

Maradona helped Argentina win that last title, and watching this rout, it's not difficult to start believing it could happen again.

Tevez, only 22 and a coming star with the 18-year-old Messi, praised the teamwork _ the deft passes and perfectly timed shots. With only four players back from the 2002 team humiliated in a first-round ouster, this side is young and a pure product of coach Jose Pekerman.

Seventeen members of the 23-man team played for Pekerman when he coached Argentina to World Youth championships in '95, '97 and 2001.

"When everyone does it together, it's like that," Tevez said.

Argentina's first two goals were masterpieces.

Argentina got a perfect start with Rodriguez scoring in the sixth minute. He finished off his shot at the end of perfect passes down the left side from captain Juan Pablo Sorin and Javier Saviola.

Argentina made it 2-0 in the 31st, a classic goal by Cambiasso, who entered in the 17th minute for injured Luis Gonzalez. Argentina held possession with a string of two dozen passes. At the finish, Saviola found Cambiasso, who passed to Hernan Crespo, who back-heeled the ball for Cambiasso's left-footed finish.

"It couldn't have gone any better," Cambiasso said. "The moment I came in, one of the first balls I touch is a goal.

"We're really working well as a group," he added. "This team is solid and we are very confident. We know we haven't achieved anything yet. We have to stay relaxed on the path we want to take, because it's a long road and it's hardly just begun."

Rodriguez's second involved more grit than guile.

Saviola stole the ball in the right corner, then took a shot breaking for the net. Serb keeper Dragoslav Jevric made a sprawling save. The ball rebounded off the goalpost to his right, with Rodriguez slipping the shot home in the 41st.

To celebrate, he did a flying somersault.

With Serbia down to 10 men after Mateja Kezman was sent off in the 65th for a harsh tackle on Javier Mascherano, Crespo broke through in the 78th off a pass from Messi. It was the 18-year-old Messi's first action of the tournament and he punctuated it with the final goal in the 88th.

Tevez scored in the 84th, curling the ball into a wide open net as the Serb defense remained leaky.

On a clear day, the game was played under a closed roof at FC Schalke's stadium _ a move to give TV a shadow-free field.