Spain’s crushing 6-1 win over Argentina headlined the international friendly action this week as teams begin to finalise their World Cup preparations.
A number of high-profile friendlies took place on Monday and Tuesday as teams competing in the 2018 World Cup look to finalise their squads for the showpiece event. The week-long international break has provided the national teams with some much-needed time together in training and the opportunity to gain competitive match practice as the managers look to iron out their squads and starting eleven.
Spain 6-1 Argentina
La Roja landed a damaging blow against 2014 World Cup finalists Argentina by smashing the South Americans for six in their friendly match. Julen Lopetegui’s side highlighted their World Cup credentials as Isco scored a hat-trick in between goals from Diego Costa, Thiago Alcantara and Iago Aspas. La Albiceleste may have been without a number of regulars including Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero, but the loss would have surely knocked their confidence with the tournament just months away.
Germany 0-1 Brazil
The two sides met for the first time since the Germans beat Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final four years ago. Brazil were looking to banish the memories of the darkest day in their history as they beat their hosts 1-0, courtesy of a Gabriel Jesus header. The Seleção would have welcomed the victory which ended defending champions Germany’s 23-game undefeated streak. Joachim Löw would not be too disappointed as he made a number of changes to his side in order to give everyone a run before selecting his final World Cup squad.
Portugal 0-3 Netherlands
Portugal were comfortably beaten 3-0 by the Netherlands on Monday evening. The European Champions were hosting a team who failed to qualify for the World Cup and who were playing just their second match under new boss Ronald Koeman. Fernando Sanchez’s men were blown away by three first-half goals in a defeat which would no doubt have damaged their confidence.
England 1-1 Italy
The Three Lions and the Azzurri battled it out at Wembley on Tuesday evening. Gareth Southgate’s team dominated large parts of the encounter and looked dangerous going forward throughout. They took the lead after a quick free-kick from Jesse Lingard set up Jamie Vardy, who made no mistake with his finish. The Italians grew into the game and finally found their equaliser after they were awarded a controversial penalty via the Video Assistant Referee. Lorenzo Insigne stepped up and converted the spot kick, 1-1 the final score.
Egypt 0-1 Greece
Mohamed Salah’s team were edged 1-0 by Greece on Tuesday night. Greece took the lead in the first half from a Nikolaos Karelis header. Both teams, however, struggled to find a rhythm due to the number of substitutions taking place. The Pharaohs wouldn’t be too displeased with the run-out as they look to finalise their team for the World Cup.
Nigeria 0-2 Serbia
Serbia beat Nigeria 2-0 on Tuesday evening in their international friendly match played in England. Aleksandar Mitrovic’s second-half brace caged the Super Eagles whose six-match unbeaten run came to a halt. Both teams, however, would have been happy with the competitive nature of the encounter as they continue preparations for the World Cup.
Other selected results:
Japan 1-2 Ukraine
Russia 1-3 France
Iran 2-1 Algeria
Belgium 4-0 Saudi Arabia
Poland 3-2 Korea Republic
Morocco 2-0 Uzbekistan
Photo: Mariscal/Backpagepix
