Finland stunned WC winner France 2-0 in a friendly as the hosts were punished for missing a number of chances.
First-half goals from winger Marcus Forss and striker Onni Valakari gave the Finns an unexpected win, which had looked even more unlikely after France carved open the visiting defence early on.
Forward Marcus Thuram, could have made a scoring debut at Stade de France Thuram almost scored with his first chance for France when he headed against the crossbar from close range in the 16th minute. Two minutes later, Thuram volleyed over another good opportunity from close range and tried his luck with a speculative curling shot a few minutes later.
With Thuram probing down the left and combining well with striker Wissam Ben Yedder, the French looked in total control only to concede twice in quick succession.
After midfielder Moussa Sissoko gave the ball away in the 28th, Forss charged into the penalty area and finished confidently with a driving shot. Three minutes later, the Valakari curled a shot past goalkeeper Steve Mandanda from the edge of the penalty area.
France had a lot of the possession in the second half yet created little until the latter stages.
Portugal win 7-0
Cristiano Ronaldo scored once in Portugal’s 7-0 rout of Andorra in a friendly, moving a step closer to becoming the all-time top scorer for a national team.
Ronaldo reached 102 goals with Portugal to sit seven shy of the 109 scored by former Iran striker Ali Daei, the only other male soccer player to surpass the 100-goal milestone for a national team. Ronaldo broke the century mark after scoring twice in Portugal’s Nations League win over Sweden in October.
Ronaldo entered the match after halftime at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon. He made it 6-0 with a close-range header in the 85th minute after having squandered a few good chances.
He had replaced Pedro Neto, the 20-year-old Wolverhampton forward who was making his national team debut and opened the scoring for Portugal in the eighth minute. Paulinho, who was also making his Portugal debut, added to the lead in the 29th and Renato Sanches scored in the 56th.
Germany beat Czech
Lucas Waldschmidt’s early goal was enough for an inexperienced Germany team to beat the Czech Republic 1-0 in their friendly game.
Germany goalkeeper Kevin Trapp made a late save to deny Matej Vydra an equalizer for the visitors, who were without two players due to positive coronavirus tests. The game was played without fans to minimize the risk of infections.
Germany coach Joachim Löw handed debuts to both PSV Eindhoven defender Philipp Max and Wolfsburg defender Ridle Baku.
Spain, Dutch draw
Donny van de Beek put his Manchester United troubles behind him to score the equalizer as the Netherlands came from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Spain in a friendly at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Van de Beek has struggled to establish himself as a first-team player in Manchester but felt right at home back at the stadium where he rose to prominence with Ajax as he drilled a low shot past Unai Simon in the 47th minute.
It was a fourth match in charge without a win for Netherlands coach Frank de Boer, whose record is now a loss and three draws.
Italy win 4-0
Vincenzo Grifo scored his first two goals for Italy in a 4-0 win over Estonia in a friendly as the host won comfortably despite missing a number of players and its coach because of coronavirus infections.
Federico Bernardeschi also scored in the first half, while Riccardo Orsolini converted a penalty four minutes from time. Italy was without coach Roberto Mancini and several players because of the coronavirus.
Belgium win 2-1
Striker Michy Batshuayi scored twice to help a makeshift Belgium side come from behind to beat Switzerland 2-1 in a friendly game.
The Crystal Palace forward showed clinical efficiency to convert Belgium’s two best chances in the second half after Switzerland deservedly took the lead with an early goal that rewarded its intense pressing.
Ahead of upcoming Nations League matches against England and Denmark, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez played mostly his backups and handed debuts to youngsters Dodi Lukebakio, Hannes Delcroix and Charles De Ketelaere.