Brazil’s Miranda steals win

Jeddah (Saudi Arabia): Brazil snatched a dramatic 1-0 win over Argentina with an injury-time header from Miranda in their friendly match in front of a sell-out crowd in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Inter Milan centre-back was left all alone to thump in a 93rd-minute effort from Neymar’s corner when the match between the fierce South American rivals seemed destined for a stalemate on Tuesday. The lapse spoiled an otherwise strong defensive performance from Argentina, who contained Brazil for long periods. He may be 34, but Miranda, whose career has also seen him play in France and Spain, says he is far from done in the yellow shirt of Brazil. With Neymar to the fore, Brazil exerted late pressure and could have scored in the few minutes before Miranda struck. Argentina’s best chance came during a period of pressure around the hour mark. But while Brazil named a strong team including Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus, Philippe Coutinho of Barcelona and Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino alongside Neymar in attack, Argentina were without a host of top stars, including Lionel Messi. Missing from the Argentina line-up were also Manchester City’s in-form forward Sergio Aguero, Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria and AC Milan striker Gonzalo Higuain. Meanwhile, Edison Flores scored an 86th-minute equaliser as Peru grabbed a 1-1 draw against a youthful United States side in an international friendly. afp