A win for Thiago with Spain - Coutinho and Davies lose
A win for Thiago and the Spanish national team was never in doubt in their European Championship qualification match on Friday evening. On the penultimate matchday in Group F, the three-time Euro winners beat Malta 7-0 (HT: 2-0) in Cádiz to take them to 23 points and a 5-point lead over Sweden. Spain had already qualified for Euro 2020 before the match. Àlvaro Morata (23rd minute) and Santi Cazorla (41st) set the Spaniards on course for victory before half-time. Pau Torres (62nd), Pablo Sarabia (63rd), Dani Olmo (69th), Gerard Moreno (71st) and Jesús Navas (85th) netted after the break to round off a victory befitting the hosts. Thiago played a full 90 minutes and helped to set up goals from Olmo and Navas.
Brazil lose to Argentina
In a prestigious clash with great rivals Argentina, Philippe Coutinho's Brazil suffered a narrow defeat. In Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, the Seleção lost 1-0 (HT: 1-0) on Friday evening. The decisive goal was scored by six-time winner of the Best FIFA Men's Player award Lionel Messi with a follow-up shot after a missed penalty in the 14th minute. Four months on from the last meeting of the two teams, the Argentines took revenge for their 2-0 defeat in the semi-final of the Copa América. Coutinho came on as a substitute at the beginning of the second half.
Defeat for Davies with Canada in the Nations League
Alphonso Davies also had to cope with a defeat for the Canadian national team. In the Concacaf Nations League, the Canadians lost 4-1 (HT: 3-0) to the USA in Orlando early on Saturday morning. With goals from Jordan Morris (2nd minute), Gyasi Zardes (23rd) and Aaron Long (34th), the home side set out their stall early on. Davies played the full 90 minutes and Steven Vitoria (72nd) pulled one back for the visitors after the break, before Zardes tied things up for the hosts with his second goal a minute from time. Despite the defeat, Canada still lead Group A of the Nations League with nine points from four games - three points ahead of the USA, who have played one game less.