Story highlights
England defeats Brazil 2-1 in Luiz Felipe Scolari's first game back in charge
Spain overcomes Uruguay 3-1 thanks to Pedro double
Germany comes from behind to defeat France 2-1
Italy holds Holland to 1-1 draw with late Marco Verratti strike
Luiz Felipe Scolari’s mission to lead Brazil to World Cup glory on home soil suffered an inauspicious start as his team suffered its first defeat by England for 23 years.
Scolari, who replaced Mano Menezes at the helm in November for a second spell in charge, looked on from the touchline as goals from Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard gave England a 2-1 victory Wednesday.
Ronaldinho’s return to the team after a one year absence ended in disappointment after his penalty was saved by England goalkeeper Joe Hart.
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The 32-year-old lasted just 45 minutes, but former Chelsea manager Scolari says the playmaker will be given another chance to prove his worth following an unimpressive showing.
“He has played 90 minutes for the first time this year last week, so it’s to be expected that he is not fully in the conditions that he wants,” Scolari told reporters.
“It was established that Neymar would take the penalties but he was changing his shin pad, or something like that.
“Ronaldinho took the ball and nobody is going to ask a player of that experience and with that caliber to back down and let somebody else take it.”
England had taken the lead just minutes after Ronaldinho’s failure from the spot when Rooney lashed home following good work from Theo Walcott.
Brazil drew level after the interval when a mistake by Chelsea’s Gary Cahill allowed substitute Fred to rifle home an equalizer from just inside the penalty area.
But Lampard, who came on at half-time, fired home the winner when his effort flew off Julio Cesar’s post and into the net.
England manager Roy Hodgson told BBC radio: “It’s my first crack at Brazil as a manager and I’m delighted to have been able to oversee a victory.
“It was an all-round performance from the team, there were some very, very good moments and I thought we were good value for two goals to one.”
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Elsewhere, World and European champions Spain extended its unbeaten run to 17 games with a 3-1 win over Uruguay in Qatar.
Barcelona’s Pedro Rodriguez scored twice and Cesc Fabregas was also on target for Spain with Cristian Rodgriuez netting for Uruguay.
The contest also saw Barcelona’s Carles Puyol captain the side on the occasion his 100th international appearance.
“Pedro is a dynamic player,” Spain coach Vicente del Bosque told reporters.
“He knows exactly what he has to do and he has the touch of speed needed in modern football.
“We had periods of good football in the first-half but we lacked a bit of directness and Pedro provided this with his speed.”
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Italy needed a last gasp strike from Marco Verratti to secure a 1-1 draw in Holland.
The home side looked set for victory thanks to Jeremain Lens’ 33rd minute strike, but Italy hit back to salvage a draw.
Germany came from behind to defeat France 2-1 in Paris thanks to goals from Thomas Muller and Sami Khedira.
It was the first time since 1987 that the Germans have beaten France, which had taken a first half lead through Mathieu Valbuena.
“We played some good stuff going forward, but were punished for our mistakes, especially at their equalizer,” France coach Didier Deschamps told reporters.
“We kept pushing right to the end, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”
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Cristiano Ronaldo was on target for Portugal, but the Real Madrid star couldn’t prevent his side from losing 3-2 at home to Ecuador.
Portugal had led 2-1 after Ronaldo and Helder Postiga had overturned Antonio Valencia’s second minute strike.
But an own-goal from Joao Pereira and a Felipe Caicedo effort sealed a surprise win for the South Americans.
Leo Messi failed to score as Argentina claimed a 3-2 win over Sweden in Stockholm.
An own-goal by Mikael Lustig gave Argentina the lead before Jonas Olsson equalized in the 18th minute.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero restored his side’s lead 60 seconds later with Gonazlo Higuain adding a third soon after.
Rasmus Elm’s 90th minute strike proved a mere consolation for the home side.
Elsewhere, Belgium defeated Slovakia 2-1, Russia won 2-0 in Iceland, Croatia defeated South Korea 4-0 and Romania overcame Australia 3-2.