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Wednesday was an international friendly match day in stadiums around the world. The most anticipated matches ended in victories for Spain and Argentina on the road, who managed to beat England and France, respectively.
Lithuania's next opponent in the European Championship qualifiers, France, lost at home to Argentina in Paris in front of almost 80,000 spectators.
The only goal came in the 15th minute when after a pass from Javier Zanetti, Hernan Crespo had a great chance, his shot was saved by Gregory Coupet, but Barcelona striker Javier Saviola rushed to the ball and directed it into the net.
These matches marked the 107th appearance for Argentinian defender Roberto Ayala and he has surpassed Diego Simeone in this regard.
In Manchester, the struggling national teams met in the qualifiers - England, who hadn't defeated Macedonia in the autumn and lost to Croatia, faced Spain, who stumbled against Northern Ireland and Sweden.
England created the first serious opportunity when after a long shot from Michael Carrick, their team was saved by Iker Casillas. Soon after, a combination of Valencia players almost created a goal. David Villa and Miguel Angel set up Fernando Morientes in front of the goal, but he failed to outwit England's debutant goalkeeper Ben Foster. In the 38th minute, Peter Crouch's header was dangerous.
The only goal came in the 63rd minute after D. Villa's pass in the second half. Andres Iniesta, who appeared on the field, scored from about 10 meters and gave his team the first goal. The hosts' last attempts to equalize were in vain.
In Amsterdam, the traditionally beautiful and attacking Netherlands team defeated Russia 4-1, led by Dutchman Guus Hiddink. All goals were scored in the final 25 minutes of the match.
In Dusseldorf, Germany easily defeated Switzerland 3-1. The hosts scored the first goal after a 15-month return to the national team by Kevin Kuranyi. Later, Germany's debutant Mario Gomez scored with his head, and Torsten Frings increased the lead with a penalty shot in the 66th minute. Soon after, Swiss player Marco Streller scored an honor goal.
Hosts Austria, aiming to enter the top eight teams of the continent, could not defeat Malta on the road and had to settle for a draw in this match.
In Brussels, Belgium at home was no match for Czech Republic (0-2). Disappointed fans accompanied their team's performance with boos.
Other opponents of Lithuania in the qualifiers, besides France, also played friendly matches. Ukraine drew against Israel, and Georgia defeated Turkey for the first time after Davit Siradze's goal. Italy did not play due to scandal, just like Scotland and the Faroe Islands.
Meanwhile, Belarus was scored twice by the forward Vyacheslav Hleb, soon to join the "Kaunas" club, and his accurate shots helped our neighbors play a draw against Iran on the road.
All results from Wednesday's international friendly matches:
China 2 - 1 Kazakhstan
Iran 2 - 2 Belarus
Uzbekistan 0 - 0 Azerbaijan
Albania 0 - 1 Macedonia
Hungary 2 - 0 Latvia
Romania 2 - 0 Moldova
Israel 1 - 1 Ukraine
Cyprus 0 - 3 Bulgaria
Georgia 1 - 0 Turkey
Algeria 2 - 1 Libya
Malta 1 - 1 Austria
Egypt 2 - 0 Sweden
Togo 2 - 2 Cameroon
Germany 3 - 1 Switzerland
Croatia 2 - 1 Norway
Slovenia 1 - 0 Estonia
Andorra 0 - 0 Armenia
Netherlands 4 - 1 Russia
Poland 2 - 2 Slovakia
Morocco 1 - 1 Tunisia
Belgium 0 - 2 Czech Republic
England 0 - 1 Spain
France 0 - 1 Argentina
Results of Thursday's international friendly matches:
Colombia 1 - 3 Uruguay
Venezuela 0 - 1 Colombia
USA 2 - 0 Mexico
