Despite the absence of World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, Argentina still had too much for Italy on Wednesday, winning 2-1 in Rome.
Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria was the catalyst as Gonzalo Higuain and Ever Banega scored the visitors' goals before Lorenzo Insigne replied for the Azzurri.
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Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during their friendly tie vs Netherlands. Pic/AFP
Dubbed the “Pope Francis” match, as it pitted the home of the new pontiff against the country he technically resides in, this was an eagerly-anticipated encounter.
Although each side’s top striker was missing — the injured Mario Balotelli sitting out for Italy — there was still much class on show.
Portugal held
In other games, Portugal and the Netherlands drew 1-1 on the Algarve, with a late Cristiano Ronaldo goal earning the home side a draw after Kevin Strootman had put the Dutch in front.
Friendly results
> Switzerland 1 (Alves) Brazil 0
>u00a0England 3 (Walcott, Welbeck, Lambert) Scotland 2 (Morrison, Miller)
>u00a0Belgium 0 France 0
>u00a0Ecuador 0 Spain 2 (Negredo, Cazorla)
>u00a0Germany 3 (Gundogan, Mueller, Bender) Paraguay 3 (Nunez, Pittoni, Samudio)u00a0
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