STOCKHOLM, Feb 7, (RTRS): Sweden may have kept Lionel Messi scoreless but they still succumbed to a 3-2 loss to Argentina in their friendly in Stockholm on Wednesday. Argentina took the lead as early as the third minute when Mikael Lustig steered Gonzalo Higuain’s shot into his own net, and the Swedes found it hard to get a grip on the game as their opponents retained possession with ease.
Sweden equalised when Jonas Olsson headed home Kim Kallstrom’s corner after 17 minutes, but Sergio Aguero restored Argentina’s lead almost immediately with a deft chip. They went 3-1 up when Higuain was on hand to fire home after Andreas Isaksson could only parry Messi’s powerful shot.
Sweden pulled a another goal back in added time when Rasmus Elm found to top corner with a free kick. Despite remaining scoreless, Messi was not short of chances and could have found the net in the second half. Once again Isaksson thwarted, this time with an acrobatic clearance off the line.

Ecuador 3, Portugal 2
Striker Felipe Caicedo grabbed a stunning winner as Ecuador beat Portugal 3-2 on Wednesday in a thrilling international friendly that featured an embarrassing own goal and a Cristiano Ronaldo moment of magic.
Wingers Ronaldo and Ecuador’s Antonio Valencia scored one each in the first half of a match that treated fans at the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes to a feast of attacking play and chances.
Ronaldo’s goal, which levelled the score in the 23rd minute, came after he chased a backheel from Fabio Coentrao and unleashed a delightful volley.
Portugal pulled ahead in the second half through a Helder Postiga tap-in but just when the hosts looked on top Joao Pereira gifted Ecuador an own goal when he misjudged a back pass.
Caicedo compounded Portugal’s woes by firing in to put Ecuador in front with 20 minutes to go.

Ireland 2, Poland 0
In Dublin, Ciaran Clark and Wes Hoolahan scored in either half to give Ireland a 2-0 international friendly win over Poland.
Defender Clark pounced on a loose ball after 35 minutes following a scramble from a set-piece to drill home and set 41st-ranked Ireland on their way to victory over their lower-placed opponents, with Poland 56th.
Hoolahan put the result beyond any doubt with 14 minutes remaining when he latched onto Jeff Hendrick’s pass by using his chest and sent a delightful finish past substitute keeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Ireland, who are third in their 2014 World Cup qualifying group, next play second-placed Sweden on March 22 while Poland, third in Group H, host Ukraine on the same date next month.

Netherlands 1, Italy 1
In Amsterdam, substitute Substitute Marco Verratti struck in stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw for an otherwise toothless Italy in an international friendly against Netherlands.
Jeremain Lens had put a young Dutch side, whose players averaged 22.3 years, ahead in the 33rd minute and the hosts looked like they were heading for victory as they repeatedly prevented the Italians from netting an equaliser.
Lens picked up a blocked shot from midfielder Kevin Strootman and lifted the ball over Davide Astori before firing home from close range.

Wales 2, Austria 1
In Swansea, winger Gareth Bale’s class shone through as he scored one goal and created another to inspire Wales to a 2-1 win over Austria in a friendly international at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium.
The victory was a confidence boost for the hosts, who had won just one of their last seven matches and whose qualifying campaign for the 2014 World Cup is going badly with three defeats in four games.
Bale put Wales ahead in the 21st minute when he got an exquisite first touch on a long ball from Joe Allen before taking it on to his devastating left foot and sending it into the far corner.
So often the one shining light in an otherwise ordinary Welsh side, Bale was instrumental in the second goal when his inch-perfect cross from the right found the head of Sam Vokes who nodded home seven minutes after the break.

Belgium 2, Slovakia 1
In Brussels, a 90th-minute strike by midfielder Dries Mertens salvaged a 2-1 win for Belgium over Slovakia in an international friendly that the hosts had dominated until it sprung into life in the closing stages.
Belgium, joint top of their World Cup qualifying group with Croatia, had some two-thirds of the ball in a fully one-sided first half that at times felt like an exhibition match with Eden Hazard’s flicks and back-heels.
Hazard’s 10th minute penalty, after he had struck the ball against Slovak defender Tomas Hubocan’s arm to prompt the spot kick and then sent keeper Dusan Kuciak the wrong way, was the hosts’ slim reward for bossing the game.

Russia 2, Iceland 0
In Moscow, Roman Shirokov scored one and assisted on the other as Russia eased past Iceland 2-0 in a friendly to stretch their unbeaten run under coach Fabio Capello to seven games.
The Russians dominated for most of the game, played in the Spanish resort of Marbella, but wasted numerous chances before Shirokov opened the account with a low shot from close range just before the interval following good work by his Zenit St Petersburg team mates Viktor Faizulin and Vladimir Bystrov.
Oleg Shatov, playing in his first international after coming on for Alexander Anyukov at the start of the second half, doubled the lead with a powerful blast from the edge of the box in the 66th minute after a neat pass from Shirokov.

Chile 2, Egypt 1
In Santiago, Chile notched a third win in as many matches under new coach Jorge Sampaoli when they beat Egypt 2-1 in an international friendly in Madrid on Wednesday.
It was Sampaoli’s first match with his full senior squad including exiles, since taking over from fellow Argentine Claudio Borghi in December, after wins over Senegal and Haiti with a team of home-based players last month.
Chile scored through striker Eduardo Vargas on the hour and midfielder Carlos Carmona six minutes later with Mohamed Salah pulling one back two minutes from time for American coach Bob Bradley’s Egypt team.

Scotland 1, Estonia 0
In Aberdeen, Gordon Strachan’s reign as Scotland manager got off to a winning start with Charlie Mulgrew’s first-half goal enough to seal a 1-0 victory against Estonia at Pittodrie.
Strachan, who was appointed in succession to the sacked Craig Levein last month, had previously not managed a win in any of his opening games as manager of Coventry, Southampton, Celtic or Middlesbrough.
But after early efforts from Chris Burke and Shaun Maloney it was Mulgrew, a player that Strachan sold when in charge of Celtic, who scored in the 39th minute when he clipped Charlie Adam’s free-kick past Sergei Pareiko for his first Scotland goal.