LONDON: Spain twice benefited from the use of video assistance to defeat France 2-0 on Tuesday, while Sweden rallied from two goals down to beat Portugal 3-2 and spoil Cristiano Ronaldo’s homecoming in Madeira.

Antoine Griezmann headed in what appeared to be the opening goal at the Stade de France in Paris shortly after half-time, but it was ruled out for offside after consultation with the video assistant referee.

David Silva then converted from the penalty spot after a foul by Laurent Koscielny, and the Spaniards again profited from technology as the referee reversed an offside decision that had initially negated Gerard’s Deulofeu 78th-minute effort.

“The victory was not a result of the [video] refereeing but due to the excellent work and attitude of my players,” said Spain coach Julen Lopetegui. “The [video] refereeing gave justice to this match, it resolved those two incidents fairly.”

Monaco’s teenage prodigy Kylian Mbappe made his first international start and nearly struck as early as the fifth minute, with David de Gea reacting sharply to kick away the Frenchman’s attempt.

Gerard Pique hooked a header from Koscielny off the line, while Andres Iniesta twice went close in the first half before video replays were used for the first time in France.

Griezmann’s celebrations after the break were cut short when Layvin Kurzawa was shown to be in an offside position as he set up the Atletico Madrid striker.

The linesman’s flag was then raised as Deulofeu tapped in Jordi Alba’s left-wing cross, but replays indicated the on-loan AC Milan winger was marginally behind Samuel Umtiti as the ball was played into the box.

“Playing Spain in a friendly is not a fun game, it never has been. But we need this,” said France coach Didier Deschamps.

Real Madrid star Ronaldo paraded the European Championship trophy before kick-off at the Maritimo Stadium as Portugal played their first match in his hometown of Funchal on the Madeira Islands since 2001.

Ronaldo fired the hosts ahead with 18 minutes gone to take his tally of international goals to 71. It tied him with former Germany striker Miroslav Klose in third place in the all-time list of European international scorers, behind Hungarian pair Ferenc Puskas (84) and Sandor Kocsis (75).

An own goal from Andreas Granqvist in the 34th put Portugal 2-0 ahead but Sweden staged a stirring second-half comeback, with Viktor Claesson scoring in the 57th and 76th minutes before Joan Cancelo’s own goal won it for the visitors in the third and final minute of stoppage time.

Ronaldo was substituted in the 58th, when Portugal were leading 2-1.

“We played pretty well in the first half but we weren’t completely serene defensively,” said Portugal coach Fernando Santos. “After the break we didn’t play as well and we ended up losing a match we should never have lost.”

GRIM TIMES FOR DUTCH

Fred Grim’s first and possibly only match in charge of the Dutch ended in another loss for the fallen giants of European football as the Netherlands lost 2-1 at home to Italy.

The Netherlands fired coach Danny Blind on Sunday, a day after a 2-0 loss to Bulgaria and with the nation struggling to qualify for next year’s World Cup. The Dutch failed to qualify for Euro 2016, too.

Grim was placed in temporary charge but saw a 32nd-minute goal from Leonardo Bonucci seal victory for Italy.

The Netherlands took the lead in the 10th minute when a shot by Quincy Promes deflected off two Italy defenders into the net, with Alessio Romagnoli getting the final touch.

Eder equalised a minute later and Bonucci converted the winner after turning in the rebound from Marco Parolo’s header.

Louis van Gaal, a potential new coach for the Netherlands, was in the stands for the match.

Christian Benteke scored twice for Belgium in Sochi, the stadium used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics, since converted into a football ground.

However, Russia marked the occasion of the first ever match at the Fisht Arena with a rousing comeback as the 2018 World Cup hosts recovered from 3-1 down with goals from Alexei Miranchuk and Alexander Bukharov in the final quarter hour.

Croatia conceded inside the first minute and then two more goals late on in a surprise 3-0 loss at Estonia, and Bosnia-Herzeg­­ovina beat Albania 2-1 away.

Bristol City defender Hordur Magnusson curled in a first-half free-kick as Iceland downed the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in Dublin, while Marko Arnautovic scored as Austria were held to a 1-1 draw with Finland in Innsbruck.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2017