Agencies
GLASGOW, November 19
Wayne Rooney scored twice after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain opened the scoring to earn England a 3-1 win over Scotland at Celtic Park. The Arsenal forward headed home an inch perfect cross from Gunners team-mate Jack Wilshere before Rooney scored his 45th England goal as he closes in on Sir Bobby Charlton and Gary Lineker’s goal tallies.
Andrew Robertson gave the home side hope when he fired low past Fraser Forster but Rooney struck again to give the visitors a two-goal cushion.
Many had predicted a fiercely contested affair between the neighbouring nations but, despite some early resistance from the home side Roy Hodgson’s men were quickly in firm control.
Scotland brought Chris Martin in for injured striker Steven Fletcher, while Hodgson handed a first England appearance since 2012 to Stewart Downing, who was in the thick of the action early on.
The midfielder, occupying the central position in which he has excelled for West Ham this season, played in captain Rooney, who in turn fed Danny Welbeck for a strike that was unconvincingly stopped by Marshall.
Scotland, roared on by a fervent home crowd, settled after a period of English pressure, but both teams were struggling to carve out any clear-cut opportunities.
That was until the 32nd minute, when Oxlade-Chamberlain – one of six changes to the side that triumphed 3-1 over Slovenia in a Euro 2016 qualifier on Saturday – got his head to a pinpoint Wilshere ball into the area, applying the slightest of touches to beat Marshall.
England pressed for a swift second, but Welbeck was unable to control James Milner’s pass in the centre of the penalty area as the move broke down, while Scotland’s half ended without having tested Fraser Forster – the former Celtic stopper back on his old stomping ground, as he replaced Joe Hart in goal.
Both managers elected to make changes at the interval, with Craig Gordon coming on to make his first Scotland outing since 2010, but his first task was to pick the ball out of the back of the net.
Robertson failed to clear his lines when the ball was driven into the penalty area by Wilshere, and Rooney reacted quickly to head beyond the reach of the current Celtic keeper, surpassing Jimmy Greaves to go outright third on the list of all-time England goalscorers.
Forster tipped over from a looping Russell Martin header at the other end as Scotland pushed to reduce the deficit, before Sheffield Wednesday frontman Stevie May was thrown on for his international debut.
Although Robertson did pull a goal back from close range seven minutes from time, Rooney found the net in similar fashion two minutes later – putting himself within two goals of second-placed Gary Lineker in the England record books.
Portugal beat Argentina with Ronaldo vs Messi a sideshow
Reuters
MANCHESTER, November 19
‘Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi’ got top billing at a packed Old Trafford but it was a lesser light who scored as Portugal scraped a 1-0 friendly win over Argentina on Tuesday. Raphael Guerreiro headed the winner in added time after a second half riddled with substitutions and missing the excitement factor provided by the game’s two biggest players who did not reappear after halftime.
With Messi and Ronaldo on the field, Argentina showed what coach Gerardo Martino is looking for from his team, a quick-passing possession game with fast thrusts forward.
They dominated the opening half-hour in which they could have scored at least twice, the first chance a shot from Angel Di Maria, playing at the home of his club Manchester United, that skimmed the outside of the post after he was set up by Messi.
Argentina’s closest effort was in the 11th minute when Messi beat the offside trap to reach a through ball on the right and came in at a tight angle, his low shot from the edge of the six-yard box beating Beto but glancing off the post and back into play.
As the half-hour approached, Messi crossed, Javier Pastore headed and Beto dived to save before Ronaldo raised the decibels in the stadium when he backheeled a neat pass to Bosingwa then raced into the box to take the right back’s cross but his shot after two dummies went over the bar. It was the signal for Portugal to come out of their shell for the last 15 minutes of the half and put the Argentine defence under pressure but Martino’s side managed to play their way out of trouble.
After a lukewarm start to the second half, Di Maria had a shot from outside the box saved by Beto before Carlos Tevez came on for Gonzalo Higuain to boos from fans of his former team Manchester United but he did not make an impact.
The game failed to pick up its first half rhythm and quality, despite an end-to-end flow, thanks to the high number of substitutions as every player in the two squads appeared to be getting a chance to play.
Portugal looked like they wanted it more towards the end and a lucky bounce set up Ricardo Quaresma to cross from the right and give substitute Raphael Guerreiro a free header for the only The billing at goal.
