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International Rewind: Argentina top Germany, Spain squeak by Puerto Rico, and more

Leo Messi Argentina (AP)

By FRANCO PANIZO

Lionel Messi missed a penalty kick and was denied by the post on another chance, but that still do not stop him and Argentina from going into Germany and cruising to victory.

The Albiceleste extended their current winning streak to five games after picking up a 3-1 win over Germany in  one of the marquee matches of Wednesday's busy international FIFA date. Sami Khedira scored an own goal just before halftime, and Messi and Angel di Maria found the back of the net in the second half before the Germans grabbed a consolation goal in Frankfurt through Benedikt Howedes.

CONMEBOL's other heavyweight, Brazil, also recorded a big win while Paraguay settled for a disappointing draw with a CONCACAF opponent. The Selecao cruised to a 3-0 victory over Sweden thanks in part to a brace from Alexandre Pato. Paraguay, meanwhile, could not see off Guatemala and they settled for a 3-3 draw at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. after Carlos Ruiz converted a late penalty kick for Los Chapines.

Puerto Rico did not manage to get a result, but they did put forth a valiant effort in a 2-1 loss to Spain. New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Bill Gaudette was one of the main reasons Puerto Rico did not get blown out at home by a near-full-strength Spanish side, making eight saves against the European champions.

Here's a complete list of results from Wednesday's busy international slate:

Albania 0-0 Moldova

Japan 1-1 Venezuela

South Korea 2-1 Zambia

China 1-1 Ghana

Russia 1-1 Ivory Coast

Armenia 1-2 Belarus

Azerbaijan 3-0 Bahrain

Bulgaria 1-0 Cyprus

Luxembourg 1-2 Georgia

Norway 2-3 Greece

Sweden 0-3 Brazil

Ukraine 0-0 Czech Republic

Denmark 1-3 Slovakia

Austria 2-0 Turkey

Croatia 2-4 Switzerland

Hungary 1-1 Israel

Montengreo 2-0 Latvia

Belgium 4-2 Netherlands

Estonia 1-0 Poland

Macedonia 1-0 Lithuania

Slovenia 4-3 Romania

Iceland 2-0 Faroe Islands

Paraguay 3-3 Guatemala

Canada 2-0 Trinidad & Tobago

Costa Rica 0-1 Peru

Ecuador 3-0 Chile

El Salvador 0-2 Jamaica

Mexico 0-1 United States

Germany 1-3 Argentina

Northern Ireland 3-3 Finland

Serbia 0-0 Ireland

Wales 0-2 Bosnia-Herzegovina

England 2-1 Italy

France 0-0 Uruguay

Scotland 3-1 Australia

Portugal 2-0 Panama

Puerto Rico 1-2 Spain

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What do you think of these results? Surprised Argentina won so easily in Germany? Impressed with Gaudette's performance in Puerto Rico's narrow defeat to Spain?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I share your opinion. I must grab the moment, nevertheless, to ventilate my disgust at the spanish press and at mr. Del Bosque. They don’t understand that this was a genuine opportuniy that we cherished to help spread this sport amongst ourchildren. It is evident that they just came as pirates to take their bounty and leave. We received them with open arms and they just took advantage of our generosity…

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  2. Well, for those of you in the Fort Lauderdale area, you missed out on a chance to see Canada beat Trini at Central Broward Community Park, in what appears to be a cricket stadium.

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  3. I concede that Strasburg isn’t as dominant as the others in the list – I guess give that 3-4 more years and he will be the best SP in the league

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  4. Strasburg isn’t even the best pitcher on his team. And Rodgers (I’ve always been a fan, and was one of the few who didn’t doubt him for a second coming out of Berkeley) is merely one of the great QBs in the NFL; Brady and Brees are certainly his equal, and some would argue for the brothers Manning, Roethlisberger, and maybe even Rivers.

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  5. Gaudette plays for Puerto Rico? I had no idea. Supposedly Josh Saunders was capped for PR too.

    2-1 against España ain’t a bad way to go out.

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  6. This loss has caused shock waves in Germany. First, on Monday Jogi Low got all emotional at the pre-game press conference about the loss to Italy in Euro 2012 and the criticism that several German internationals do not sing the national anthem before games and he delivered a 30-minute monologue. And then last night after the game in the obligatory interview on German public TV, former FC Bayern and Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, now a TV analyst, unloaded on Low big-time at what is wrong with the Mannschaft and Low was sweating.

    Joachim Löw Interview, Deutschland 1 – 3 Argentinien, 15.08.2012
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C18RiKhjCg

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  7. I’m fascinated that the Puerto Rican goal scorer is a Senior at Providence. Guess college soccer can be good for something (I think the team only had 2 shots — the goal and a free kick in the 90th minute).

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  8. I heard that Bill Gaudette was an absolute BEAST in net for Puerto Rico. I’m going to try and hunt down some highlights from that game.

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  9. Players who dominate a game like Messi:

    Aaron Rodgers for american football
    Lebron for basketball
    Stephen Strasburg for baseball
    Federer for tennis
    Phelps (now retired) for swimming
    Bolt for short distance track

    I think those are the “Messi” athletes for their respective sports

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  10. true, but the red to the keeper in the first half ended the game right there. after that everyone knew it was going to be the messi show.

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  11. Argentina TROUNCED Germany. Messi is just unreal. Have you ever seen a player simply dominate a game like he does?

    It doesn’t matter how bad his team is playing (like the first 20 minutes yesterday), he can literally flip the entire narrative of a match with simply a few touches and some possession.

    Amazing to see his transformation now that he’s been given the armband and the keys to the locker room.

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