Reigning world champions Spain kept four-time World Cup winners Italy at arm’s length to ride out a 1-0 friendly victory in Madrid on Wednesday night.

Italy had an opportunity to prove they are capable of dethroning Spain and reclaiming the World Cup trophy, but Pedro scored the goal that settled the contest in the 63rd minute while the Azzurri rarely threatened the home goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo became Portugal’s all-time top scorer by contributing two goals to a comfortable 5-1 victory over Cameroon in Leiria.
The Real Madrid forward broke Pauleta’s existing record of 47 goals for Portugal in the 21st minute and he set a new benchmark of 49 when wrapping up the comprehensive win seven minutes from time.
Vincent Aboubakar had cancelled his opener out, but Raul Meireles, Fabio Coentrao and Edinho put the hosts out of sight before Ronaldo added gloss to the result.
Didier Deschamps’ France looked a side flush with new-found confidence against 2010 runners-up Holland, who could not muster up a response to first-half goals from Karim Benzema and Blaise Matuidi on their way to suffering a 2-0 defeat.
In Mannheim, an experimental Germany line-up beat Chile 1-0 with Mario Gotze scoring the winner on 16 minutes.
England left it late to beat Denmark 1-0 through Daniel Sturridge’s 82nd-minute strike at Wembley while Gareth Bale turned on the style as he returned to Wales to run Iceland ragged in a 3-1 win.
The Real Madrid star set up goals for James Collins and Sam Vokes before scoring a magnificent third himself.
Scotland had a good night as Scott Brown’s wonder goal sealed a 1-0 victory over Poland, but James McCarthy’s second-half own goal meant the Republic of Ireland went down 2-1 at home to Serbia. Shane Long scored first but Filip Djordevic hit back before McCarthy’s gaffe settled the match.
Turkey and Sweden went head-to-head in Ankara with the hosts triumphing 2-1 on the night.
Mevlut Erding hit the opener within two minutes and a quick exchange of goals between Ola Toivonen and Olcan Adin after the break tipped the scales in the Turks’ favour.
Norway and the Czech Republic are also staying at home this summer but put on a good show in Prague.
Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky opened the scoring before Tarik Elyounoussi levelled and, after Matej Vydra gave the Czechs the lead once again, Morten Gamst Pedersen hit a late equaliser to settle a dramatic 2-2 draw.
There was little for supporters to cheer in Cyprus, though, as 10-man Northern Ireland ground out a goalless draw in Nicosia despite losing Gareth McAuley to a red card.
Across the island in Larnaca, Ukraine found some reason to be cheerful amid political unrest back home by beating the United States 2-0 with goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Marko Devic.
Fabio Capello’s Russia were 2-0 winners over Armenia and Greece were given food for thought ahead of the summer finals as South Korea claimed a 2-0 victory in Piraeus.
Montenegro are not going to South America but beat qualified African nation Ghana 1-0 while Algeria trumped Slovenia 2-0.
Swansea’s Wilfried Bony grabbed a late leveller as Ivory Coast held Belgium to a 2-2 draw in Brussels. Marouane Fellaini and Radja Nainggolan gave the hosts a two-goal lead but veteran striker Didier Drogba halved the deficit before Bony had the last word.
Switzerland’s meeting with Croatia also finished 2-2, Nurnberg’s Josip Drmic scoring his first international goals and Ivica Olic bagging a brace in response.
Romania sprang a surprise by holding two-time world champions Argentina to a goalless draw in Bucharest and Uruguay drew 1-1 with Austria. Goals either side of half-time saw Albania defeat Malta 2-0 and Finland recovered to down Hungary 2-1 in Gyor.
Slovakia proved too hot to handle for Israel as they clinched a 3-1 victory while goals from Gedo and Mohamed Salah decided a 2-0 win for Egypt over soon-to-be World Cup debutants Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Gibraltar lost 2-0 at home to Estonia in what was the British territory’s third fixture since becoming a full UEFA member.
Elsewhere, Bulgaria beat Belarus 2-1, Lithuania and Kazakhstan drew 1-1 in Antalya and Azerbaijan edged the Philippines 1-0. Macedonia held off Latvia to win 2-1 in Skopje, Moldova humbled Andorra 3-0 and lowly Luxembourg played out a goalless draw with Cape Verde.

According to Foxsports

A Neymar hat-trick inspired Brazil to a comfortable 5-0 defeat over South Africa in their international friendly in Johannesburg.

Oscar got the ball rolling on 10 minutes before Neymar grabbed his first just before half-time.
The Barcelona star took just seconds after the re-start to score again, and after Fernandinho got in on the act, Neymar completed his treble in injury time.
The 22-year-old has now scored 30 goals in 47 internationals for Brazil – leaving him just two goals outside the country’s all-time top-10 scorers.
It did not take long for Felipe Scolari’s side to take the lead as Chelsea midfielder Oscar lifted a delicate chip over Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Ronwen Williams after running on to a through ball from Hulk.
Neymar went close to extending the advantage on 20 minutes when he was put through one-on-one with Williams, but the striker left himself with too much of an angle to score from and sent his shot wide.
Williams then made a good save to deny Neymar when he tricked his way past a couple of defenders.
Neymar eventually broke through five minutes before half-time as he profited on Williams’ slow reactions to slide his shot through his legs.
Brazil changed into their blue kits for the second half and it took barely 30 seconds for Neymar to score in it.
The striker beat the offside trap to run on to a lofted pass before coolly lobbing over the stranded Williams.
Brazil turned on the style from then on, although they had to wait until the 79th minute for a fourth when Fernandinho smashed in his first international goal.
Neymar then completed the rout, and his hat-trick, in injury-time when he could not miss after Jo’s knock down.
Brazil will play two more friendlies before their World Cup opener against Croatia in Sao Paulo on June 12.
The Selecao will host Panama in Goiana on June 3 before meeting Serbia at the Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paulo three days later.

According to Foxsports

Manchester United manager David Moyes is growing increasingly concerned about Robin van Persie’s erratic contribution to the club’s season.
Van Persie has been in and out of the United team because of injuries and is thought by some of his team-mates to be unhappy at Old Trafford.
Moyes has persistently defended the 30-year-old in public and denied suggestions of problems between the two.

Concern: David Moyes is worried about Robin van Persie’s erratic contribution this season

Frustration: Moyes has privately expressed frustration about Van Persie’s lack of goals

However, Sportsmail understands the United manager has recently expressed private frustrations about Van Persie and is beginning to wonder if last season’s top scorer can be relied upon in the long term.
Van Persie’s goal record this season is good but his partnership with Wayne Rooney reached a new low when the duo hardly passed to each other in the Champions League defeat at Olympiacos.
Moyes was not bothered about Van Persie’s remarks concerning team shape in the wake of last week’s loss in Greece but is concerned about his form and body language on the pitch.

Body language: The Dutch striker has appeared moody in recent weeks

Partners? Van Persie and Wayne Rooney hardly passed to each other against Olympiacos

It is understood Moyes was beginning to wonder about Van Persie even before that game and it remains to be seen if the former Arsenal player manages to raise his levels between now and the end of the season.
United sources underlined just last week that Van Persie would not be sold this summer, even if he asked to leave.
However it will be up to Moyes to decide whether he remains the type of player to build a team around.

Future: Moyes must decide if he wants to build his team around Van Persie

No extension: There is no chance that Rio Ferdinand will stay at Old Trafford next season

Van Persie is not the only player giving Moyes concern. He has privately bemoaned the fact that the core of the United squad is just not as good as he thought it was when he arrived from Everton to replace Sir Alex Ferguson.
There is, for example, no chance that Rio Ferdinand will receive an invitation to extend his contract this summer while other players who have been the bedrock of the United squad in recent years will be shipped out if at all possible during the off-season.

According to Dailymail

The defender has bagged 21 trophies during his time at the Catalans and there is a chance he can add three more to his total this season before he leaves.

Carles Puyol announced on Tuesday that he will depart Barcelona and he leaves behind a trail of silverware in his 15 years of service.

The defender has played for the Catalans his entire career and has been a key figure for over a decade after making his debut under Louis van Gaal’s tenure in 1999.

Injuries in the past 18 months have restricted the 35-year-old’s playing time and subsequently resulted in him being linked with a move away when his contract ends in the summer, something the Spain international has now confirmed during the international break.

Puyol will depart Camp Nou with at least 21 titles to his name, plus whatever remaining trophies Gerardo Martino’s men can lift before the end of the 2013-14 campaign.

The Barca skipper’s career has seen him take home three Champions Leagues, six La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, six Supercopas de Espana, two Uefa Super Cups and two Club World Cups

Puyol will hope that he can play some part in the Blaugrana’s defence of their Primera Division crown, with the club currently sitting just one point behind leaders Real Madrid.

Barca’s 2-0 victory at Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash means that their European ambitions still look healthy, although they will be desperate to avoid another humiliation like they suffered last season in their 7-0 semi-final loss to Bayern Munich.

The next chance that the centre-back will have to make it 22 Barca trophies will be in the Copa del Rey final against Clasico rivals Real Madrid on April 16.

According to Goal

The 35-year-old has decided to call time on his career at Camp Nou, 15 years after making his debut for the club

Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has announced that he will leave the club at the end of the season, at which point he will have a “rest” before deciding his next move.

The 35-year-old has struggled with injury in recent years and has made just 12 appearances in all competitions this term, with Javier Mascherano and Marc Bartra preferred alongside Gerard Pique at centre-back.

His current deal runs until 2016 but Puyol has revealed that an agreement has been reached with the club to erase the final two years of his contract.

“The club knows of my decision. It doesn’t mean that I am leaving today, there are three months of the season left to play,” he told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

“I do not know what I will do after June 30. I will need to rest and think. We will see then.

“I wanted to call this press conference to thank everyone, directors, team-mates, managers, media – thank you everyone for everything you’ve done for me.”

Puyol admitted that his recent physical problems did have a key impact in his choice to quit.

“After the two aggressive surgeries, it’s taking me a lot to get back to the level I demand myself to keep playing. More than I thought and much more than what doctors told me. That’s why I made this decision,” he said.

The defender came through the youth ranks at Camp Nou and made his debut for the club in 1999, before going on to rack up nearly 600 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions.

Puyol becomes the latest experienced head to announce his departure from the reigning Liga champions after Victor Valdes revealed last season that he will leave when his contract expires this summer.

According to Goal