Argentina's Lionel Messi looked on from the stands for as long as he could, but with 10 minutes remaining he had seen enough.

Cameras captured the injured captain leaving his seat, presumably to head for the dressing room to console his distraught teammates, but the image was symbolic as his hapless team were humiliated 6-1 by a rampaging Spain side.

“They’ve really given us a slap in the face,” was how stunned&nbspArgentina&nbspcoach Jorge Sampaoli summed up the humiliating World Cup warm-up defeat in his post-match news conference.

“I feel bad for the boys, I take the responsibility. In the second half we didn’t have balance or solidity and we were all at sea.”

Argentina&nbspmay have swept Italy aside 2-0 on Friday without Messi, who has a muscle injury, but context is required given that the Italians failed to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1958 after a 1-0 playoff defeat by Sweden.

Granted, there was no Angel di Maria or Sergio Aguero for&nbspArgentina&nbspon Tuesday either but when it came to the crunch, the players wilted. Too often they rely on their Messi ‘get out of jail’ card.

It was Messi who fired a hat-trick in their final qualifier against Ecuador – after they went 1-0 down inside the first minute – to secure their spot at the World Cup in Russia.

Without him against top-level opposition in Madrid,&nbspArgentina&nbspwilted and to describe their defending as haphazard is generous.

Sampaoli may have a squad that allows him the luxury of leaving the likes of forwards Mauro Icardi and Paulo Dybala at home but on the other hand neither of their goalkeepers - Sergio Romero and Willy Caballero - play regularly for their clubs.

“Argentina&nbspis going to be living in torment from now until the World Cup,” former international Jorge Valdano said on Spanish radio station Onda Cero.

“Messi’s the only reason that anyone is even giving&nbspArgentina&nbspa sliver of hope of winning the World Cup. (Striker) Gonzalo Higuain is a marked man in&nbspArgentina&nbspand I wouldn’t like to be in Sampaoli’s shoes either.”

Many pundits suggest Messi cannot be considered a truly great player until he achieves something with&nbspArgentina. However, judging by Tuesday's performance he has already achieved a lot in helping&nbspArgentina&nbspreach the finals.

How far they go in Russia will surely be dictated by the form and fitness of the Barcelona forward as they prepare to face Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria in the group stage.

&nbsp

Argentina's Lionel Messi looked on from the stands for as long as he could, but with 10 minutes remaining he had seen enough

Argentina's Lionel Messi looked on from the stands for as long as he could, but with 10 minutes remaining he had seen enough. Cameras captured the injured captain leaving his seat, presumably to head for the dressing room to console his distraught teammates, but the image was symbolic as his hapless team were humiliated 6-1 by a rampaging Spain side. “They’ve really given us a slap in the face,” was how stunned&nbspArgentina&nbspcoach Jorge Sampaoli summed up the humiliating World Cup warm-up defeat in his post-match news conference. “I feel bad for the boys, I take the responsibility. In the second half we didn’t have balance or solidity and we were all at sea.” Argentina&nbspmay have swept Italy aside 2-0 on Friday without Messi, who has a muscle injury, but context is required given that the Italians failed to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1958 after a 1-0 playoff defeat by Sweden. Granted, there was no Angel di Maria or Sergio Aguero for&nbspArgentina&nbspon Tuesday either but when it came to the crunch, the players wilted. Too often they rely on their Messi ‘get out of jail’ card. It was Messi who fired a hat-trick in their final qualifier against Ecuador – after they went 1-0 down inside the first minute – to secure their spot at the World Cup in Russia. Without him against top-level opposition in Madrid,&nbspArgentina&nbspwilted and to describe their defending as haphazard is generous. Sampaoli may have a squad that allows him the luxury of leaving the likes of forwards Mauro Icardi and Paulo Dybala at home but on the other hand neither of their goalkeepers - Sergio Romero and Willy Caballero - play regularly for their clubs. “Argentina&nbspis going to be living in torment from now until the World Cup,” former international Jorge Valdano said on Spanish radio station Onda Cero. “Messi’s the only reason that anyone is even giving&nbspArgentina&nbspa sliver of hope of winning the World Cup. (Striker) Gonzalo Higuain is a marked man in&nbspArgentina&nbspand I wouldn’t like to be in Sampaoli’s shoes either.” Many pundits suggest Messi cannot be considered a truly great player until he achieves something with&nbspArgentina. However, judging by Tuesday's performance he has already achieved a lot in helping&nbspArgentina&nbspreach the finals. How far they go in Russia will surely be dictated by the form and fitness of the Barcelona forward as they prepare to face Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria in the group stage.

World Cup friendlies: Spain humiliates Messi-less Argentina

Defender Thiago Silva believes Brazil restored some pride in the famous shirt after a 1-0 friendly win over Germany in Berlin allowed his team to put their 2014 World Cup mauling behind them.

Gabriel Jesus' first-half goal at a sold-out Olympic Stadium on Tuesday saw Brazil end Germany's unbeaten run of 22 games dating back to their Euro 2016 semi-final defeat by hosts France.

"It was a matter of pride, after all that has been written and said," said Silva, who was suspended for the 7-1 rout in Belo Horizonte nearly four years ago.

"This jersey deserves a little more respect. That's why I'm overjoyed about winning against a big opponent."

The friendly victory gained a measure of revenge for five-time world champions Brazil, whose coach Tite had admitted are still haunted by the thrashing in the semi-finals of the last World Cup.

The 56-year-old, nicknamed 'The Professor', said his side had learnt the lesson and showed cool heads in chilly Berlin.

"You media has spoken a lot about this (7-1) result, the reality that it is over -- we simply played well here and we won," said Tite.

"We had no anger or hatred, you can't play well with emotions like that.

"We weren't trying to rebuild lost pride, we just wanted to put in a good performance.

"There are positive things to take from the game and the result, but we made a few mistakes, we gave away some possession and we lacked some width in our game."

Tite said he was pleased to see Brazil earn wins over Russia and now Germany in the last week without injured star forward Neymar.

"We are learning to play well without Neymar and that is part of our strength," said the Brazil boss.

Defending world champions Germany are now winless in their last four games after draws against England, France and Spain.

"We have lost the game, but we can live with it as we have four or five points which we need to intensively work on," said Germany head coach Joachim Loew.

"It was to be expected that Brazil, with their injured soul, played their best team and were highly motivated.

"It wasn't our day. We made too many mistakes, which allowed Brazil to grow in strength and confidence.

"We had a few young players, who will learn from this, but in addition, the body language was not right from some players."

There was some relief for Loew after Germany captain Jerome Boateng twisted ankle ligaments and had to come off in the second half.

"I don't think it's so bad and that nothing is torn," revealed Loew.

The Germany boss made seven changes from the team which started the 1-1 draw with Spain last Friday and included just two World Cup-winners.

Kroos felt some fringe players had blown their chance at a place in Germany's World Cup squad.

"There were a few players who had the chance to show what they could do, but didn't take it -- that's annoying," said the Real Madrid midfielder.

"We saw today that we aren't as good as we are made out to be and as some players believe.

"There is a lot of room for improvement."

'This jersey deserves a little more respect. That's why I'm overjoyed about winning against a big opponent,' says Brazilian defender Thiago Silva

Defender Thiago Silva believes Brazil restored some pride in the famous shirt after a 1-0 friendly win over Germany in Berlin allowed his team to put their 2014 World Cup mauling behind them. Gabriel Jesus' first-half goal at a sold-out Olympic Stadium on Tuesday saw Brazil end Germany's unbeaten run of 22 games dating back to their Euro 2016 semi-final defeat by hosts France. "It was a matter of pride, after all that has been written and said," said Silva, who was suspended for the 7-1 rout in Belo Horizonte nearly four years ago. "This jersey deserves a little more respect. That's why I'm overjoyed about winning against a big opponent." The friendly victory gained a measure of revenge for five-time world champions Brazil, whose coach Tite had admitted are still haunted by the thrashing in the semi-finals of the last World Cup. The 56-year-old, nicknamed 'The Professor', said his side had learnt the lesson and showed cool heads in chilly Berlin. "You media has spoken a lot about this (7-1) result, the reality that it is over -- we simply played well here and we won," said Tite. "We had no anger or hatred, you can't play well with emotions like that. "We weren't trying to rebuild lost pride, we just wanted to put in a good performance. "There are positive things to take from the game and the result, but we made a few mistakes, we gave away some possession and we lacked some width in our game." Tite said he was pleased to see Brazil earn wins over Russia and now Germany in the last week without injured star forward Neymar. "We are learning to play well without Neymar and that is part of our strength," said the Brazil boss. Defending world champions Germany are now winless in their last four games after draws against England, France and Spain. "We have lost the game, but we can live with it as we have four or five points which we need to intensively work on," said Germany head coach Joachim Loew. "It was to be expected that Brazil, with their injured soul, played their best team and were highly motivated. "It wasn't our day. We made too many mistakes, which allowed Brazil to grow in strength and confidence. "We had a few young players, who will learn from this, but in addition, the body language was not right from some players." There was some relief for Loew after Germany captain Jerome Boateng twisted ankle ligaments and had to come off in the second half. "I don't think it's so bad and that nothing is torn," revealed Loew. The Germany boss made seven changes from the team which started the 1-1 draw with Spain last Friday and included just two World Cup-winners. Kroos felt some fringe players had blown their chance at a place in Germany's World Cup squad. "There were a few players who had the chance to show what they could do, but didn't take it -- that's annoying," said the Real Madrid midfielder. "We saw today that we aren't as good as we are made out to be and as some players believe. "There is a lot of room for improvement."

World Cup friendlies: Brazil restored pride by beating Germany

world-cup-friendlies

World Cup Friendlies, News on World Cup Friendlies, stories on World Cup Friendlies, articles on World Cup Friendlies, World Cup Friendlies stories at Wion, World Cup Friendlies news, World Cup Friendlies latest news

world cup-friendlies

World Cup friendlies: Spain humiliates Messi-less Argentina

World Cup friendlies: Brazil restored pride by beating Germany