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Agencies

Beaten Scotland were “spooked” by England in Tuesday’s friendly, said manager Gordon Strachan before describing the visitors as the best side his squad had faced since he took charge last year.
Captain Wayne Rooney scored twice after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain headed in the opener as England maintained their impressive record against the Auld Enemy, winning 3-1 to chalk up a seventh victory in nine meetings.
Roy Hodgson’s team have not been beaten on Scottish soil in four games since a 1-0 defeat at Hampden Park in 1985.
“I have to say that was probably the best performance against us tonight for a very long time,” Strachan said.
“The intensity that England played at, the way they played and the pace without the ball especially was fantastic – and it kind of spooked my players.
“They are a team full of Champions League players and they showed that tonight,” said Strachan.  “I thought they were fantastic.”

	I’ve always loved playing for England. I’m on a good run of goals and I hope that continues. If that means I break the record then I’ll be delighted

	Wayne Rooney
Oxlade-Chamberlain put England ahead at Celtic Park and Rooney scored either side of a late Andy Robertson strike to chalk up his 45th and 46th international goals on his 101st appearance.
It took the Manchester United striker clear of Jimmy Greaves, with whom he had previously shared third place, and left him three goals shy of Bobby Charlton’s all-time record and two goals behind Gary Lineker.
“I’ve always loved playing for England,” said Rooney. “I’m on a good run of goals and I hope that continues. If that means I break the record then I’ll be delighted.”
Manager Hodgson was delighted with England’s performance as they made it six wins out of six since their dismal World Cup showing in June.
“We showed our intentions from the off, started the game very well and I can’t think of many periods in the game when we were losing control – and some of the attacking movements in particular were very good,” he said.
“We have a lot of young players and we talked before the game about the atmosphere and support Scotland get here. We handled that well and I thought our fans were fantastic, and they gave a good account of themselves.”

Meanwhile, Toni Kroos struck with a fierce long-range shot a minute from time to give Germany a 1-0 victory over Spain in a friendly between two injury-depleted European heavyweights in Vigo.
And the highly anticipated duel between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo fell flat as the world’s two best players lasted just 45 minutes of Portugal’s last-gasp 1-0 win over Argentina at Old Trafford.
The 27th meeting between Portugal winger Ronaldo and Argentina forward Messi had been billed as a golden opportunity for the world’s two best players to underline their credentials for this year’s Ballon D’or award.
But neither Barcelona’s Messi nor Real Madrid’s Ronaldo were anywhere near their brilliant best, with the latter especially anonymous on just his second return to Old Trafford since his 2009 move from Manchester United.
“We had planned with Lionel after he played the whole match (of last week’s 2-1 win) against Croatia that he should only take part in the opening 45 minutes,” Argentina coach Gerardo Martino said.
In the end, Portugal claimed only their second win over Argentina, and their first since 1972, thanks to Raphael Guerreiro’s diving header in stoppage-time.
Germany’s victory over Spain, the team that preceded them as world champions, came in a game between two experimental sides thanks to a 90th-minute goal by Kroos.
“It was just what we’d been hoping for. It’s been a big year and this was a fine way to close it,” Kroos said.
Spain’s substitute goalkeeper, Kiko Casilla, was guilty of a howler, fumbling Kroos’ innocuous-looking shot from the edge of the area.
Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas had started for Spain in his 160th international appearance, but made way for his near namesake Casilla with 20 minutes to go.
In a packed Ernst-Happel Stadium, the Austrian fans thought they had got off to the perfect start against Brazil, but apparent goal-scorer Rubin Okotie was yellow-carded for handling the ball into the Brazilian net.
As it was, Brazil ended a disappointing year with a 2-1 win over Austria, Paris Saint-Germain centre-back David Luiz opening the scoring for the visitors before Aleksandar Dragovic equalised from the penalty spot, only for Roberto Firmino to snatch the Brazilian winner seven minutes form time.
This result won’t make up for Brazil’s humiliating 7-1 World Cup semi-final defeat to eventual champions Germany on home soil in July, but will at least send the Selecao into the new year with a more positive vibe.
It was their sixth straight win since the end of the World Cup but the first goal they had conceded under coach Dunga, who took over from Luis Felipe Scolari after the global bonanza.
Dunga was delighted to see his gamble on new face Firmino paying off.
“When I picked the squad and people asked me about Firmino I said he has goals in him,” he said.
In Genoa, a virtual second-choice Italy side laboured to a narrow 1-0 win over Albania. The winning goal even had a touch of fortune about it as Hamdi Salihi diverted Stefano Okaka’s shot past goalkeeper Etrit Berisha with seven minutes left.
On his debut, Okaka, a second-half substitute for Sebastian Giovinco, was a rare bright spark for Italy.
For Albania, it was a case of so near and yet so far, just a few days after holding France to a 1-1 draw.
France, meanwhile, notched up a 1-0 victory over Sweden thanks to an 84th-minute goal from Raphael Varane, and Ireland beat the United States 4-1 in further friendly action.
Two goals from Robbie Brady and one each from Anthony Pilkington and James McClean helped the Irish to victory, with Max Diskerud grabbing the Americans’ sole goal.
Reuters, Agence France-Presse
 


England trump 'spooked' Scotland thanks to Wayne Rooney double      

Wayne Rooney celebrates scoring England's second goal with Adam Lallana and Kieran Gibbs in the friendly against Scotland at Celtic Park in Glasgow. Photo: AFP

Wayne Rooney heads England 2-0 ahead, then launches into an acrobatic celebration. Photos: AFP, Reuters

Toni Kroos is the hero for Germany in their 1-0 win over Spain at the Estadio Balaidos in Vigo. Photo: EPA

 Substitute Roberto FirminoFirmino is embraced by Neymar after his moment of brilliance overcame a gallant Austria in Vienna. Photo: EPA 

Stefano Okaka scores on his debut to help Italy beat Albania 1-0 in Genoa. Photo: AP


Sport

Football

Highly anticipated duel between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo falls flat, while Germany edge big match between last two World Cup winners


England captain Wayne Rooney scored twice after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain headed the opener in a 3-1 win over Scotland as the visitors dominated a typically passionate Auld Enemy friendly at Celtic Park on Tuesday.
