A Lionel Messi wonder goal saw Argentina narrowly edge out Brazil 1-0 in the friendly international in Doha to register their first win over their arch-rivals in five years.
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Lionel Messi celebrates against Brazil
Messi settled an even contest in the final minute, the Barcelona star picking up Ezequiel Lavezzi's pass before slaloming past four defenders and stroking the ball home into the corner of the net.
AC Milan playmaker Ronaldinho, back in the Brazil squad for the first time in 19 months, enjoyed a solid performance on his return to the team but failed to cap it with a goal as Sergio Romero enjoyed a good night in the Argentina goal.
Belgium eased to a 2-0 win over Russia in Voronezh. Romelu Lukaku proved the difference between the two sides with a goal in each half, first tapping home after two minutes when Eden Hazard dispossessed Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev and centred for the Anderlecht striker. Lukaku added his second 17 minutes from time with a low drive from just inside the area.
Bosnia-Herzegovina defeated Slovakia 3-2 in an entertaining encounter in Bratislava. Filip Sebo fired Slovakia ahead after three minutes but Haris Medunjanin levelled shortly before the half-hour.
Miralem Pjanic fired Bosnia ahead after 50 minutes and Edin Dzeko made it 3-1 on the hour. Peter Grajciar pulled one back for the hosts 24 minutes from time but that was the end of the scoring.
Birmingham striker Nikola Zigic proved the difference as Serbia posted a 1-0 win overBulgaria, the giant striker firing home from inside the area 10 minutes from time.
Israel were 3-2 winners against Iceland, Tamas Priskin and Balazs Dzsudzsak were on target as Hungary beat Lithuania 2-0 while Albania and Macedonia played out a goalless draw.
Strikes from Ahmed Abdul-Zaher, Mohamed Nagy and Mohamed Zidan saw Egypt to a comfortable 3-0 win over Australia.
Roque Santa Cruz scored twice as Paraguay crushed Hong Kong 7-0 in a friendly encounter on Wednesday. The Manchester City forward, who is set to leave the club in January after making just two appearances this season, opened the scoring for the World Cup quarter-finalists after just five minutes.
Edgar Barreto added a second just after the half-hour before Santa Cruz completed his brace in the 33rd minute. Nestor Ortigoza made it 4-0 two minutes into the second half and the midfielder scored again in the 54th minute. Late goals from Marcos Riveros and Cristian Riveros completed the rout.
Oman suffered a 4-0 hammering at the hands of Belarus at Al Seeb stadium. The home side fell behind after only five minutes when Alyaksandr Martynovich scored, and the 23-year-old defender added his second goal of the night six minutes later. Vyacheslav Hleb added the third goal for Belarus after 35 minutes before Vitali Rodionov scored the fourth in the 57th minute.
Saudi Arabia completed their preparations for the Gulf Cup as they held Ghana to a goalless draw in a friendly at Al Maktoum stadium in the United Arab Emirates. The draw was the second in a row for the Saudis after their scoreless stalemate with Uganda on Tuesday. The Saudis have been drawn in Group A of the Gulf Cup along with Yemen, Kuwait and Qatar, while they will play in Group B of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup along with Syria, Jordan and Japan.
Kuwait were held to a draw by Asian champions Iraq in their international friendly match at Bani Yas stadium. Iraq opened the scoring in the final minute of the first half through their striker Younis Mahmoud before Kuwait levelled the scores seven minutes after the hour mark when Mesaed Nada netted.
