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John Terry atones for error as lesser lights star in England show 
Even a city of Berlin’s splendour and history remains undeniably a work in progress, as evidenced by the number of cranes that clutter the evocative skyline. It is a description that can equally be applied to Fabio Capello’s England, but, a year almost to the day since the nadir of the Steve McClaren era, there could be no more encouraging sight than a patched-up team making light of so many big-name absentees to brush aside the challenge of Germany.
Who could have imagined last November, as they capitulated against Croatia at Wembley while the helpless McClaren sought refuge under an umbrella, that within 12 months England would be top of their World Cup qualifying group, having beaten Croatia 4-1 in Zagreb, and, with a weakened XI, claimed the prized scalp of Germany? It is a remarkable transformation and, were it not for the number of false dawns that England fans have seen over the years, it would be tempting to get carried away.
As poor as Germany were, this is a result to be treasured. At the final whistle, John Terry joined a handful of team-mates in a huddle in the centre circle to mark the occasion. It was the captain who secured the win six minutes from time, a relief for him after a calamitous contribution to Germany’s equaliser 20 minutes earlier. There is a tendency on these occasions to personalise the issue, but this has to go down as a collective triumph. Michael Carrick and Stewart Downing deserve special mentions, as does Gabriel Agbonlahor for the assurance with which he took his first steps on the international stage, but the thing to emphasise here is that England look a team again. In fact, with so many key players missing, they looked more than the sum of their parts, rather than less, as has often been the case.
The build-up had been all about the players who were missing — not just David Beckham and Michael Owen, who were left out, but Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney, all ruled out by injury. Perhaps that, and the assertion that the match had become an irrelevance, irritated those who had waited patiently for such an opportunity. Either way, it was a performance that will remind the absentees of the competition for their places. It will be interesting to see how many of them dare to stay at home, nursing aches and strains, when England travel to Spain in February.
Agbonlahor is one who has vaulted his way into contention, having approached his debut with much the same sang-froid and unabashed self-assurance that characterised Wayne Rooney at the start of his international career. He does not have Rooney’s innate football genius, but Agbonlahor’s most obvious raw material, his pace, is augmented by a willingness to run aggressively and directly at opponents. Per Mertesacker and Heiko Westermann, the plodders at the heart of the Germany defence, will not look back with fondness on their first encounter with the forward, who received an almighty pat on the back from Capello when he made way for Ashley Young, his Aston Villa team-mate.
The biggest winner of all was Downing, who set up the goals and showed conviction throughout. The Middlesbrough winger has often looked out of his depth in the choppy waters of international football but here, perhaps more comfortable in the absence of the bigger names, he was assertive in everything he did, not least in testing René Adler with a fierce shot from distance just before half-time.
By that stage, England were leading 1-0, with Matthew Upson the unlikely beneficiary of a clanger from Adler. The goalkeeper, doing a passable impression of Tottenham Hotspur’s Heurelho Gomes, got nowhere near Downing’s corner. The ball struck Agbonlahor and, while others hesitated, Upson pounced. An infrequent goalscorer at club level — seven goals in 260 matches — he will treasure his first in 12 appearances for his country.
England were coasting, with the natives growing restless. When Darren Bent, a half-time substitute, raced clear of the Germany defence in the 62nd minute, all bets were off. Bent did the hard part, taking the ball around Tim Wiese, another half-time replacement, but, with the goal gaping, he shot hopelessly wide. It was a failure of technique, with the chance falling on his weaker left foot, but was there also a loss of nerve as thoughts flashed through his mind of his costly, if largely forgotten, miss in the final minutes of that calamitous defeat by Croatia a year ago?
The Croatia flashbacks continued a minute later, when Carson, sent on at half-time for his first England cap since that fateful night, ended up in a horrible mix with Terry. The goalkeeper looked angry with himself, as Patrick Helmes nipped in to score his first international goal, but the real culprit, as he later admitted, was Terry, who uncharacteristically failed to take responsibility of a bouncing ball. Capello characterised it thus: “You should,” “I should,” “You should.” But it was Terry who should have taken control of the situation.
England and their captain, though, were not to be denied. After Shaun Wright-Phillips flickered into life and shot against a post from fully 25 yards, Downing floated in a free kick from which Terry looped a header past Wiese and into the net. Germany 1, England Reserves 2. Who would have thought it on Monday, let alone a year ago? TimesOnline
Luis Fabiano hat-trick helps Brazil thump Portugal
Brazil gave beleaguered coach Dunga some respite on Wednesday by thumping Portugal 6-2 in a friendly, helped by a hat-trick from striker Luis Fabiano.
The five-times world champions had been held to 0-0 draws in their last three home games, against Argentina, Bolivia and Colombia, and had not scored in front of their own fans since last November.
Dunga was jeered by the crowd and seemed to be in for a long night when Danny opened the scoring for the visitors by turning in Bruno Alves's cross after four minutes.
But Luis Fabiano levelled four minutes later following a break down the left by Robinho and put Brazil ahead in the 25th minute with a shot on the turn from Kaka's pass.
The second half produced four goals in a 10-minute spell.
Maicon scored with an angled shot for Brazil in the 55th minute and Luis Fabiano completed his hat-trick with an opportunist goal two minutes later.
Simao Sabrosa pulled one back for the visitors, only for Elano to rifle home Brazil's fifth from another chance created by Kaka.
Adriano headed Brazil's sixth in stoppage-time as Brazil completed their first win over Portugal since 1989. Reuters
Van Persie double helps see off Sweden
Robin Van Persie scored twice to give the injury-depleted Netherlands a comfortable 3-1 win over Sweden in their friendly in Amsterdam.
Van Persie opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with a header, after Wesley Sneijder took a short corner and then exchanged passes with Ryan Babel on the left flank before crossing for the Arsenal striker to nod home.
The same player doubled the home side's lead three minutes into the second half, beating Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson from 15 meters out after he was played in by substitute Rafael van der Vaart.
Kim Kallstrom pulled one back for Sweden in the 50th minute, scoring from the edge of the box, but Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt headed in Tim de Cler's cross in injury time to wrap up the win.
France were jeered off the field after a dull 0-0 draw with Uruguay at the Stade de France.
France failed to create many chances, and the best opportunity fell to Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka, who headed just over from Franck Ribery's free-kick in the 17th minute.
Uruguay missed their best chance moments later when an error from Philippe Mexes almost gifted the visitors a goal.
Mexes failed to clear the ball and instead passed it straight to Cristian Rodriguez, who shot wide from 12 meters. Ajax striker Luis Suarez then went close in the 31st minute with a spectacular effort.
France captain Patrick Vieira played in his first international match in nine months because of injury, but was replaced at half-time.
Meanwhile, Denmark suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat to Wales in Copenhagen, with captain Craig Bellamy scoring the only goal with 13 minutes remaining.
Bellamy fired home from 18 meters out after running at the home defense, to make up for missing two first-half chances.
To complete miserable night for Scandinavia, Norway were beaten 1-0 in Ukraine, with the only goal coming from the penalty spot.
Yevhen Seleznyov netted in the 26th minute after Serhiy Nazarenko had been fouled in the area. To complete a miserable night for the visitors, they ended the match with 10-men after Roma defender John Arne Riise was sent off for kicking the ball into the referee's back. CNN
Maradona starts as coach with 1-0 win at Scotland
Diego Maradona made his debut as Argentina's coach Wednesday, his team beating Scotland 1-0 in an exhibition game in the stadium where he scored the first goal of his extraordinary international career.
Maxi Rodriguez scored in the eighth minute at Hampden Park for an Argentine team that showed only flashes of the skill that brought Maradona such fame.
Maradona, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in 1986, made a mostly quiet coaching debut. There was little of the frantic gesticulating and wild cheerleading that characterized his time as a fan of the national team.
Aside from Maxi's goal, there was little evidence of the entertaining performance Maradona promised Scottish fans for their warm welcome. The midfielder's low shot past goalkeeper Allan McGregor completed a slick move and gave a hint of the passing game that could evolve under Maradona.
Argentina did show a competitive edge it will need to build on if it hopes to improve its fourth-place standing in South America's World Cup qualifying group.
In 1979, Maradona scored his first international goal in a 3-1 win over Scotland. He was greeted by fans in his return to Hampden Park with cheers and an anti-English song in his honor.
Maradona spent most of the game huddled on the bench, his diminutive figure exaggerated by the outsized coat insulating him from the cold Scottish night, and he barely celebrated the first goal of his tenure. He made two brief forays to the sideline in the first half, apparently to instruct his defense.
Maradona had concerns apart from soccer. He had considered leaving the team before his coaching debut because of his daughter's pregnancy complications in Spain. Maradona said Wednesday she asked him to remain with the team in Glasgow.
Maradona said daughter Giannina is hospitalized but fine, and he will travel to see her. She is six months pregnant and having the boy with Argentina forward Sergio Aguero, who plays for Atletico Madrid and left the team Tuesday to be with her. The Associated Press
Friendly Match Results
Malta 0 - 1 Iceland
Oman 0 - 1 Paraguay
Azerbaijan 1 - 1 Albania
Lithuania 1 - 1 Moldova
Montenegro 2 - 1 Rep. of Macedonia
Serbia 6 - 1 Bulgaria
Slovakia 4 - 0 Liechtenstein
Cyprus 2 - 1 Belarus
Israel 2 - 2 Ivory Coast
Egypt 5 - 1 Benin
Ghana 0 - 0 Tunisia
Ukraine 1 - 0 Norway
Romania 2 - 1 Georgia
South Africa 3 - 2 Cameroon
Morocco 3 - 0 Zambia
Denmark 0 - 1 Wales
Slovenia 3 - 4 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Austria 2 - 4 Turkey
Greece 1 - 1 Italy
Luxembourg 1 - 1 Belgium
Switzerland 1 - 0 Finland
Germany 1 - 2 England
Holland 3 - 1 Sweden
Northern Ireland 0 - 2 Hungary
France 0 - 0 Uruguay
Ireland 2 - 3 Poland
Scotland 0 - 1 Argentina
Spain 3 - 0 Chile
Brazil 6 - 2 Portugal
Venezuela 0 - 0 Angola
