Messi and Tite exchange words in Argentina win
RIYADH: Argentina captain Lionel Messi and Brazil coach Tite exchanged words during the clash between the South American giants on Friday but it was the forward who had the last laugh after his team’s good run continued with a 1-0 win in Saudi Arabia. Messi looked to the touchline and put his fingers to his lips before making another hand sign that appeared to tell the Brazil coach he had too much to say for himself.
Tite admitted he had been complaining to the referee during the first half and said the two men exchanged words. “I complained because he (Messi) should have been shown a yellow card and he told me to shut my mouth and I told him to shut his mouth,” Tite said. “And that was it.”
The Brazil coach played down the incident and highlighted Messi’s performance in the welldeserved friendly victory. The Barcelona forward was one of the outstanding performers for Argentina on his return to international football after missing four games through suspension.
He scored the only goal after 14 minutes — his penalty was saved but he followed up to beat Alisson —and could have had another couple of goals but for some stout defending and the keeper’s awareness. “When you win, it puts you more at ease and that is very positive for what lies ahead. I ended the match well, we all ran quite a bit. And that is what we were there to do.”
RACIST ABUSE
STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s joy at qualifying for Euro 2020 thanks to a 2-0 win away to Romania on Friday was tarnished by the racist abuse suffered by their striker Alexander Isak when he replaced Marcus Berg in the 78th minute.
The game was stopped briefly by the referee and an announcement was made over the public address system. “I heard racist shouts from the stands, and I asked the referee if he heard what was happening. He hadn’t heard anything,” Isak, whose parents are from Eritrea, said.
“A few minutes later he stopped the game and asked. We had a small discussion, the match went on and I am OK with that, and I’m happy we won. Obviously it hurts, it’s a shame but we were prepared for it.”
ZENICA,BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Italy set a national record for consecutive wins after beating Bosnia-herzegovina 3-0 in a European Championship qualifier on Friday.
Italy’s 10th successive victory eclipsed the Azzurri’s record of nine in 1938-39 under Vittorio Pozzo, who also led the national team to two World Cup trophies.
“I’m happy with the record, to go above a legend like Pozzo means a lot,” Italy coach Roberto Mancini said. “We did well to put the game on track early on.
Francesco Acerbi and Lorenzo Insigne scored in the first half and Andrea Belotti added a third after the break.