INTERNATIONAL FRENDLIES Italy held by Luxembourg European minnows Luxembourg embarrassed Italy, and denied them a first win in seven games, with a late equaliser in Wednesdays World Cup warm-up in Perugia. Claudio Marchisios ninth-minute goal had put the hosts in front and Italy should have extended their lead but were twice denied by the woodwork in the second half. Maxine Chanot earned the visitors a 1-1 draw with five minutes remaining when he nodded past a helpless Gianluigi Buffon in the Italy goal. Italy will now try to put the embarrassing result behind them before their opener against England. Raheem Sterling and Antonio Valencia were sent off as England drew their ill-tempered warm-up against Ecuador in the Miami heat. In the humid Floridian climate, Enner Valencia headed Ecuador in front after some sloppy defending by Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw. Wayne Rooney equalised and Rickie Lambert brilliantly put England ahead, but Roy Hodgson had to settle for a 2-2 draw thanks to Michael Arroyos long-range strike. A fiery match spilled over towards the end when Sterling was dismissed for a wild challenge on Antonio Valencia, who was also given a straight red for grabbing Sterling by the throat in response. Robin van Persie sparked fresh concerns over his fitness after playing just 45 minutes of Netherlands laboured 2-0 win over stubborn Wales in Amsterdam. The Manchester United striker, who had an injury-curtailed second half of the season, was withdrawn at half-time of Netherlands final match before flying to Brazil for the World Cup. Louis van Gaals side won the game comfortably enough with goals from Arjen Robben and Jeremain Lens, but under-strength Wales proved worthy opponents and frustrated them for large spells. Algeria beat Romania 2-1 in a match marred by widespread fan disorder. The teams were taken off the field after 43 minutes with the score 1-1, and Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic went to the centre circle to broadcast an appeal for fans to stop throwing lit flares and bottles. Referee Nikolaj Haeni of Switzerland brought players back after a 15-minute break to play the final two minutes of the first half, then immediately changed ends to start the second period. When El Arabi Soudani scored the decisive goal in the 66th minute, around 15 fans ran on the pitch from three sides of the Stade de Geneve. Nabil Bentaleb had put Algeria ahead in the 21st minute, and Alexandru Chipciu leveled in the 28th. Argentina took a while to get on track vs. Trinidad and Tobago but their attack looked sharp throughout as they eventually cruised to a 3-0 win. Rodrigo Palacio, Javier Mascherano and Maxi Rodriguez all scored in the win. Lionel Messi, who had several near misses and a free kick hit the post, was very much at the center of everything that worked for Argentina. It was a strong showing for Argentina, one of the World Cup favourites. The Argentines will open the tournament in Brazil on June 15 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but first play Slovenia in a friendly on Saturday. Northern Ireland proved a tough contest for another South American nation as it took two late goals from Chile to secure a 2-0 victory. It was Chiles final pre-World Cup game, but they needed three key starters -- Barcelonas Alexis Sanchez, Eduardo Vargas and Mauricio Pinilla -- to come off the bench to help them break down Michael ONeills visiting squad. As with Northern Irelands 1-0 defeat in Uruguay last week, it was a performance ONeill could take heart from -- not least after a pair of first-half free-kicks that might have given his side the lead. The strength of Chiles bench eventually told, Sanchezs chipped through-ball teeing up Vargas for the headed opener 10 minutes from time. Goals by Edinson Cavani and Christian Stuani lifted Uruguay past Slovenia 2-0. With the exception of star Luis Suarez, who is recovering from knee surgery, Uruguay were at full strength for the match. Cavani opened the scoring in the 36th minute with a strong header off a perfect pass from playmaker Diego Forlan. Forty minutes later, Stuani clinched the win after Cavani set him up for an easy shot into an unguarded net. Didier Drogba and Gervinho each had a goal and an assist Ivory Coasts 2-1 victory over El Salvador in Texas. Gervinho took a pass from Drogba for a goal in the ninth minute. In the 42nd minute, Gervinho pulled the El Salvador goalkeeper away from the net and passed across to Drogba for his goal. El Salvador scored on Arturo Alvarezs penalty kick in the 75th minute after Kolo Abib Toure fouled El Salvadors Darwin Ceren in the area.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 06:07:40 +0000