Dutch beat Spain 2-0, Italy draw with Eng

The Netherlands beat Spain 2-0 in a friendly on Tuesday to earn embattled coach Guus Hiddink some breathing space after a poor start to his second term in charge of the Dutch national team.

Center back Stefan de Vrij and midfielder Davy Klaassen scored first half goals for the Netherlands in the morale-boosting victory. Spain, thrashed 5-1 by the Netherlands at the World Cup, never looked like gaining revenge thanks to a combination of bad finishing and good goalkeeping by Kenneth Vermeer. Spain coach Vicente del Bosque, missing Chelsea striker Diego Costa, fielded an experimental side at the Amsterdam Arena, while Hiddink again had to make do without his injured stars Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben and was also missing center back Ron Vlaar.

“We had a point to prove after the match against Turkey and we did that well,” Netherlands captain Wesley Sneijder said.

De Vrij gave the Netherlands the lead in the 13th minute when he headed in a cross from Sneijder after Spain only half-cleared a corner. Ajax midfielder Klaassen scored his first international goal to double the Dutch lead three minutes later when he slipped away from Santi Cazorla and fired a shot that David de Gea parried before Klaassen hammered in the rebound. Vermeer preserved the Dutch lead with two good saves around the half-hour as Spain pressed forward. First the Feyenoord keeper advanced off his line to deny a rushing Gerard Pique and two minutes later scrambled to swat away the ball after Pedro had dispossessed Bruno Martins Indi. Spain looked the more dangerous team after the break but could not convert its chances. Cesc Fabregas and Vitolo both missed good chances before substitute David Silva finally found the net in the 70th minute - only to be ruled offside. In between, Martins Indi missed a simple chance to put the match beyond Spain’s reach when he headed a Sneijder cross into the ground and over the bar from close range.

England draw 1-1

Turin: Andros Townsend scored a late equalizer as England held Italy to a 1-1 draw in an international friendly at the Juventus Stadium. Substitute Townsend leveled 11 minutes from time to cancel out Graziano Pelle’s first-half opener after Italy had dominated the opening hour. Kane was involved in one of England’s few chances in the first half, with a header that was cleared by leonardo Bonucci but only as far as Wayne Rooney, whose deflected effort crashed off the crossbar.

England had won all seven of its matches following a disappointing World Cup but faced its toughest test yet against an Italy team which had made wholesale changes following its own dismal campaign in Brazil. Pelle was on a poor run of form and hadn’t scored in the Premier league since Dec. 20, but it was the Southampton striker who broke the deadlock in the 29th minute. Chiellini easily brushed past Phil Jones on the left and crossed for Pelle’s glancing header into the far bottom corner. England leveled in the 79th minute with a fine 25-yard strike from Townsend into the left side of goal.