FCBARCELONA.CAT

07.09.2008 09:21

Victories of Spain, Mexico and Uruguay

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Barça’s international players with Spain, Mexico and Uruguay were the only ones to achieve victory in an erratic day fort he international stars.

Spain was the first national side with a representative from FC Barcelona to achieve victory in their debut in the qualifying stage of the 2010 World Cup. Del Bosque’s first official game was more complicated than expected. With Xavi, Iniesta and Puyol in the starting eleven – all three played the full 90 minutes – Spain found it difficult to find the goals against a defensive Bosnian side. In the first half Villa missed a penalty which would have made things easier.

In the second half the Spanish side’s game improved with Iniesta, outstanding, creating lots of chances. The only goal of the match was scored by Villa from a tight angle after a good pass from Cesc. The Barça player Bojan remained on the doorstep of his debut and saw the whole game from the bench.

Mexico does as predicted

Mexico, captained by Rafa Márquez, didn’t allow any surprises and easily beat Jamaica 3-0. Eriksson’s side showed their superiority with goals from Guardado, Arce and Magallón. Márquez played the full match and the ex-Barça player, now with Tottenham, Dos Santos, also started in the first eleven. With this win Mexico continue leading their group.

Uruguay won without Cáceres

With Martin Cáceres on the bench, Uruguay surprised everyone winning against Colombia 0-1. Sebastián Eguren scored the only goal of the game. This win moves Uruguay up to third position in the South American group

French fiasco in Vienna

France, surprisingly, fell to Austria 3-1 in a poor game by Raymond Domenech. Thierry Henry, again wearing the captain’s band, was on from the start and played the 90 minutes, while Abidal, suspended, watched the game from the stand. Henry teamed up with Benzemá in attack but couldn’t avoid the downfall of his team. The Barça player had a few chances on goal such as a soft shot in the 22nd minute or a free kick, which didn’t find the target, in the 53rd minute. Austria, with goals from Mexes, an own-goal, Aufhauser and Ivanschitz, from a penalty, were superior to France. The only French goal was scored by Govou.

An Argentina of two halves

Argentina showed the worst and the best of themselves. In the first half they played a colourless, imprecise game where Tévez was sent off just after the Madrid player Heinze scored an own-goal (13th min.). After the break Basile’s side played much better, with more guts and pride, led by Messi who played the full game and was the most dangerous striker. A lay off by the Barça player was put in the back of Paraguay’s net by Agüero, and brought the game level (61st min.). Argentina deserved to win but the ‘Charrúas’ (ancient name for Paraguayans) defended well.

Gudjohnsen saved Iceland from defeat (2-2)

Eidur Gudjohnsen scored the equaliser for Iceland against Norway in Oslo (2-2). The Barça player scored the definitive 2-2 in the 69th minute of the game and earned a point for his country. Norway went ahead twice on the scoreboard with goals from Iverson (36th and 50th mins.). Earlier, the Icelander Helguson had scored the 1-1 for Iceland. Gudjohnsen was o0n from the start and played the full 90 minutes.

Difficult defeat for Hleb

The Barça player Alexander Hleb suffered a difficult defeat against Ukraine. A goal from Shevchenko, from a penalty in injury time, meant defeat for Belarus (1-0), in the game played in Lviv. Hleb played the full match against a rival with three players from Shaktar, Barça’s rival in the Champions’ League group phase: Pyatov, Shevchuk and Seleznov.