Embattled England and Argentina put their World Cup traumas behind them with desperately needed wins on Wednesday, while world champions Spain needed a last-minute goal to draw in Mexico.
England, playing for the first time since their 4-1 defeat to Germany in the World Cup second round, came back to defeat Hungary 2-1, with captain Steven Gerrard scoring two fine goals.
Argentina, beaten by the Germans in the quarter-finals in South Africa, shrugged off the controversy surrounding the sacking of Diego Maradona to beat the Republic of Ireland 1-0.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Newly crowned world champions Spain drew 1-1 in front of 100,000 fans in Mexico City, while Laurent Blanc’s reign as France coach began with a 2-1 defeat to Norway, as he fielded a side purged of its disgraced World Cup rebels.
World Cup runners-up the Netherlands put out a second-string side in Donetsk and drew 1-1 with Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine, while Germany, semi-finalists in South Africa, also used a back-up team and drew 2-2 in Denmark.
At Wembley, Gerrard helped Fabio Capello avoid more embarrassment after Phil Jagielka had put through his own goal to give Hungary a shock lead, although there were doubts over whether or not the ball had crossed the line.
Liverpool star Gerrard scored twice in four minutes to give some respite to Capello on a day when the Italian called time on David Beckham’s international career.
“I am really happy with the new players. It was a game we had to play with pressure. People spoke about the fans booing and there was big pressure, but the new players played with confidence,” Capello said.
Argentina, with Lionel Messi receiving warm applause, began the post-Maradona era with a hard fought victory over the Irish at a refurbished Lansdowne Road in Dublin.
Angel Di Maria’s first-half strike consigned Giovanni Trapattoni’s men to defeat in the first international game in the renamed Aviva Stadium. Trapattoni missed the match as he recovered in hospital after minor abdominal surgery, while Robbie Keane made his 100th appearance for Ireland.
“It was good to get the massive blow of World Cup elimination out of our system,” Argentina coach Sergio Batista said.
Blanc said he was pleased with his inexperienced France team, which included eight new caps.
Hatem Ben Arfa put France ahead shortly after halftime, but two goals from Erik Huseklepp took Norway to victory.
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