LONDON, 19 August 2005 — Zinedine Zidane marked his return from retirement with a goal for France on Wednesday, while England suffered its worst loss in 25 years in a 4-1 defeat by Denmark.
Also, teenage star Lionel Messi was sent off within a minute of making his debut for Argentina in a 2-1 victory at Hungary, Brazil was held 1-1 by Croatia, France beat the Ivory Coast 3-0 and Italy posted a 2-1 victory over Ireland.
All the powerhouse teams were in action in friendlies ahead of World Cup qualifying matches, with Spain downing Uruguay 2-0, Portugal beating Egypt 2-0 and Germany hitting back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with the Netherlands. Ronaldinho was the only big name missing from Brazil’s lineup in Split, where Ricardinho’s free kick canceled out a goal from Niko Kranjcar. The biggest shock of the night was in Copenhagen. Three goals in seven second-half minutes by Dennis Rommedahl, Jon Dahl Tomasson and Michael Gravgaard put the Danes up 3-0. Though Wayne Rooney replied two minutes from the end, there was time for Soeren Larsen to add a fourth. Gravgaard and Larsen were making their debuts.
“I am very sorry and angry about the second half. That was a disaster,” England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson said. “We were all over the place, not defending well, losing the ball. We did nothing right for 30-35 minutes. We came out in the second half and it seems like it’s a holiday. Zidane is one of three French stars who have come out of retirement to boost the national team’s flagging attempts to reach next year’s World Cup finals. The others were Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele.
Chelsea defender William Gallas gave the French a 28th-minute lead against the Ivory Coast in Montpellier before Zidane and Thierry Henry added two goals in four minutes after the break. World Cup host Germany hit back from two goals down in Rotterdam after another Chelsea star, Arjen Robben, scored twice for the Dutch. Michael Ballack replied five minutes into the second half and Gerard Asamoah equalized nine minutes from the end. The goals ended Edwin van der Sar’s Dutch record stretch of 668 minutes without conceding a goal.
Messi, whose goals helped Argentina win a record fifth World Youth Championship in July, was sent off only a minute after entering the game as a substitute. He was ejected when he elbowed Hungary defender Vilmos Vanczak for pulling his shirt.
Maxi Rodriguez and Manchester United’s Gabriel Heinze scored Argentina’s goals, and Sandor Torghelle replied for the home side.
AC Milan stars Andrea Pirlo and Alberto Gilardino put Italy up 2-0 against Ireland in Dublin before Andy Reid replied just before halftime. Clinton Morrison thought he had leveled for the Irish but it was disallowed for a foul. Sweden ended the Czech Republic’s eight-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory in Gothenburg, all the goals coming in a six-minute spell in the first half.
FC Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson put the Swedes ahead in the 19th minute, Jan Koller leveled three minutes later from the penalty spot and Ajax striker Markus Rosenberg netted what proved to be the winner in the 25th.
Valencia’s Vicente Rodriguez scored from the spot minutes after his pass was deflected into the net by Uruguay captain Pablo Garcia as Spain posted a 2-0 victory in Gijon. The result extended Spain coach Luis Aragones’ unbeaten run to 12 matches. Uruguay has never beaten the Spaniards in eight meetings.
Fernando Meira and Helder Postiga scored Portugal’s goals against Egypt in a game played on the Azores island. Friendlies also were played in South America with Paraguay beating El Salvador 3-0 on two goals by Julio Dos Santos, and Cristian Lara also had two goals in Ecuador’s 3-1 victory over Venezuela.
