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Friendlies round-up

Image: Thomas Muller: Levelled matters for Germany in a 3-3 draw with Ukraine

A youthful-looking Germany held Ukraine, France edged past USA while Italy got the better of Poland.

Germany held, wins for France and Italy

A youthful-looking Germany held Ukraine, France edged past USA while Italy got the better of Poland. Germany came from two goals behind to draw 3-3 with Ukraine in the first game in the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. Ukraine took the lead in the 28th minute through Andriy Yarmolenko, and Yevhen Konoplianka doubled the lead in the 36th after sprinting 50 yards. Toni Kroos fired in from distance for Germany's first in the 39th minute but Ukraine restored their two-goal lead just before halftime, when Serhiy Nazarenko curled in a similar long-range shot. Germany started their comeback in the 65th when Simon Rolfes blasted in from a corner, and the equaliser came in the 77th through Thomas Muller's 20-yard shot. A second-half goal by substitute Loic Remy earned France a 1-0 home win against the United States but Les Bleus failed to impress in their first preparation game for the Euro 2012 finals. After toiling throughout the first half, France made the breakthrough in the 72nd minute when substitute Remy galloped on to Marvin Martin's high ball and beat Tim Howard in the visiting goal. Mario Balotelli scored his first international goal to help Italy beat European Championship co-hosts Poland 2-0. It was the Manchester City striker's first goal in six internationals with Giampaolo Pazzini doubling Italy's advantage in the second half. Poland captain Jakub Blaszczykowski missed a penalty five minutes from time.

Spot-kick

Razvan Rat missed a late spot-kick for Romania as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Belgium while Holland's home game with Switzerland finished goalless. A second-half header from Kostas Katsouranis helped Greece fight back from a goal behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Russia. The visitors took a second-minute lead through Roman Shirokov's deflected strike. Sunderland's on-loan striker Nicklas Bendtner and Michael Krohn-Dehli scored to give Denmark a 2-0 win over Scandinavian rivals Sweden. Kenny Miller and Jamie Mackie scored in either half as Scotland beat Cyprus 2-1. It was Scotland's seventh win in 11 internationals. Elsewhere, Georgia edged out Moldova, Azerbaijan got the better of Albania while Hungary thrashed Liechtenstein 5-0 on home soil.

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