Int'l friendlies: Belgium and US fire while France and Germany stutter
Belgium continued their fine form ahead of the World Cup with a 2-0 win over Sweden.
Romelu Lukaku gave the Red Devils the lead in Stockholm with a fierce shot from over 20m (check it out below) in the 34th minute before Eden Hazard wrapped up the scoring with a neat team goal in the 78th minute.
The United States also had cool win to purr about after they beat Turkey 2-1 in New Jersey.
Borussia Monchengladbach defender Fabian Johnson (above) gave the Stars and Stripes the lead with this wonderful volley in the 26th minute after a neat one-two with Michael Bradley.
US skipper Clint Dempsey then cemented the home team's lead in the 52nd minute although the Turks pulled one back late on through a Selcuk Inan penalty on 89 minutes.
In Nice, another 89th-minute goal saw Paraguay come from behind to force a 1-1 draw with France.
Les Bleus took the lead after just eight minutes thanks this delicate Antoine Griezmann curler, which flew perfectly over everyone's head despite being taken with the Real Sociedad winger's weaker right foot.
However, Didier Deschamps' men were punished for slipshod defending when Victor Caceres rose virtually unchallenged to nod home a free-kick from close range.
It was the same story for Germany in Monchengladbach as they settled for a 2-2 draw with Cameroon.
After a goalless first hour, Samuel Eto'o got the opener on 62 minutes when he scrambled home from close range as the hosts failed to clear their lines.
While the Germans re-established themselves through a powerful 66th-minute header from Thomas Mueller and an incisive strike five minutes later from Andre Schurrle, the Cameroonians had the last laugh via Mainz forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who scored in the 78th minute with a low drive from an acute angle.
While France and Germany were left frustrated, at least they didn't lose like Honduras, who were humbled 4-2 by Israel in Houston.
Eran Zahavi's long-range effort gave the Israelis the lead in the 34th minute before Wigan midfielder Roger Espinoza (below) equalised in spectacular fashion two minutes after the break.
However, Espinoza's stunner wasn't enough to inspire the World Cup-bound Central Americans as substitute Maynor Figueroa turned the ball into his own net in the 52nd minute before Omer Damari scored on the hour mark to make it 3-1 for Israel.
Gil Vermouth then completed the scoring for the Middle Easterners with a well-taken 74th minute shot that pinged in off the post.
While Carlo Costly pulled one back with an 83rd-minute header, it could not stop Honduras from slipping to their second defeat in four days. They were beaten 2-0 by Turkey on Thursday in Washington.
It will surely pose more headaches for Honduras manager Luis Fernando Suarez, whose side will open their World Cup campaign in Group E against 1998 winners France on June 16 (Singapore time).
Sources: Wires, YouTube
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