Pedro (2) and Cesc score for the team managed by Vicente del Bosque and Puyol features in this 100th match for the national team
Messi and Mascherano defeat Sweden and Alexis’ Chile defeat Egypt in Madrid
Alves and Adriano’s Brazil lose to England in Wembley
Nine FC Barcelona players featured for the Spanish national team in Qatar, in a match that was watched by Barça President Sandro Rosell. Pedro (2) and Cesc scored for Spain. Messi, Mascherano and Alexis also featured for their respective countries. Argentina and Chile both won. Brazil, however, lost in Wembley to England.
Spain fires three past Uruguay (1-3)
Seven FC Barcelona players were named to the starting team against Uruguay: Valdés, Puyol, Alba, Busquets, Iniesta, Fàbregas and Pedro. One of them, Cesc, scored the opener a quarter of an hour into the match with a long-range strike. The keeper, Muslera, could have done better to save the attempt. Uruguay equalised on the 31st minuted thanks to ‘Cebolla’ Rodríguez’s shot.
Carles Puyol played a fantastic match in Doha. His goal was overruled and at halftime he received a tribute for playing in his 100th match for Spain. In the second half he came off for Piqué, David Villa was also subbed on. The opening 15 minutes of the second half saw eight Barça players coincide on the pitch. It was then that Pedro broke the deadlock to make it 1-2.
On 60 minutes, after an excellent save from Valdés, Iniesta was subbed off. Minutes later, Pedro scored the definitive 1-3; he was assisted by Cesc. The midfielder finished the match with a knock.
Brilliant Messi leads Argentina to victory (2-3)
Argentina, with Messi and Mascherano in the starting team, defeated Sweden in Solna. All of the goals were scored in the first 23 minutes of the match, with the exception of the last goal, which was scored in stoppage time. The goalscorers were Lustig (own goal), Agüero and Higuaín for Argentina, and Olsson and Rasmussen, for Sweden. Messi, who led Argentina, never lost focus on Sweden’s goal and on various occasions he came close to scoring, especially in the second half, when the keeper cleared the ball off the line.
Chile earns win thanks to a very active Alexis (2-1)
Alexis Sánchez played the entire 90 minutes in this evening’s match between Chile and Egypt at the Vicente Calderón. The FC Barcelona player was very active and directly contributed to his team’s two goals (Vargas and Carmona netted for Chile). Alexis had a chance score the opener on 30 minutes. Salah, on 87 minutes, cut Chile’s advantage in half.
Brazil fall to England (2-1)
Brazil, with Dani Alves and Adriano named to the starting line-up, lost to England in Wembley by 2 to 1. England scored thanks to strikes from Rooney and Lampard, while Fred scored for Brazil. The English keeper, Hart, denied Ronaldinho’s penalty when the match was 0-0. Adriano was subbed off on the 69th minute.