Suryakant Jena

Winger Richarlison scored twice in 12 minutes as Brazil breezed past Ghana 3-0 while another South American powerhouse Argentina also grabbed a 3-0 victory over Honduras in pre-World Cup international friendlies on Friday.

Brazil opened the scoring by Marquinhos's bullet header in the ninth minute from a corner by Raphinha. Richarlison extended the advantage just before the half-hour mark with a pin-point strike from the edge of the penalty area into the bottom left corner.

Assisted by Neymar, the Tottenham Hotspur forward added the third for the team on the stroke of halftime with a clever first-time header from a freekick to seal a comfortable 3-0 victory.

Since losing the final of the Copa America last year, the five-time world champions is on a 14-game unbeaten streak -- 11 wins and three draws, with 33 goals for and just four goals against.

Elsewhere, in the duel between Argentina and Honduras, Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez scored the opener with a right-footed shot from very close range.

Argentina dominated the whole game with offensive attack as captain Lionel Messi doubled the lead by converting a penalty before the halftime break. In the 69th minute, Messi scored his second by unleashing a shot outside the box.

Elsewhere 2022 World Cup host Qatar lost to Canada 2-0, Mehdi Taremi's lone goal in the 79th minute helped Iran stun Uruguay 1-0, Morocco took down Chile 2-0, and Saudi Arabia held Ecuador to a 0-0 draw.

Apart from the friendlies, Hungary shocked Germany while Italy sealed a 1-0 victory against out-of-form England in the Nations League.

Hungary stunned the Germans thanks to Adam Szalai's sensational heel flick to stay on course for a Nations League final four spot with one game left to play.

England suffered relegation in the Nations League second tier after their stuttering form capitulated with a 1-0 loss against Italy.

What is serious concern is that the Gareth Southgate's side are now without a win or even an open play goal in their last five fixtures with just less than two months before they kick off their World Cup campaign.

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