half goals by substitutes Peter Crouch and Shaun Wright-Phillips to beat African champion Egypt 3-1 at Wembley Wednesday. Mohamed Zidan put the visitors ahead in the 23rd minute following a mistake by defender Matthew Upson and England was jeered off at halftime. But the home side improved with the introduction of Crouch and Michael Carrick for the second period and Crouch made it 1-1 with a shot at the near post from Gareth Barry's right-wing cross. Wright-Phillips scored from a rebound in the 74th and Crouch got his second goal from Wright-Phillips' cross five minutes later. The Football Association arranged the friendly to give England experience of playing a north African side ahead of a World Cup meeting with Algeria. The England players will now know not to treat that match lightly after Egypt was the quicker and more accurate passing side for almost all of the first half. They will also know not to expect sympathy from neutral officials at the June 11-July 11 World Cup in South Africa after the Paraguayan referee requested by coach Fabio Capello regularly turned down their appeals for free kicks. Crouch linked well with Rooney and earned the Man of the Match award for taking his international tally to 20 goals in 37 appearances. Argentina beats Germany In Munich, a first-half strike by Gonzalo Higuain gave Argentina a 1-0 win over fellow World Cup qualifier Germany Wednesday. The Real Madrid striker collected a long clearance from Angel di Maria before beating defender Per Mertesacker, slipping the ball past Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler, who had raced nearly 30 meters off his line, and slotting it into the empty net for the 45th-minute winner. Although Germany cruised through World Cup qualifying and Argentina struggled until the last match, Diego Maradona's team was clearly the better side and earned applause from the crowd. The Germans were booed at the final whistle. Spain blanks France In Denis, France, David Villa and Sergio Ramos scored first-half goals as European champion Spain beat France 2-0 away in a friendly match Wednesday. Spain, one of the World Cup favorite, dominated the game and claimed its first victory in France in 42 years to stretch its winning run to nine matches. Villa scored his 36th international goal in the 21st minute after being set up by Andres Iniesta before Ramos doubled his team's lead on the stroke of halftime with a beautiful curling shot. France's poor display angered the home fans who loudly called for coach Raymond Domenech's resignation throughout the match. Domenech will step down after the World Cup. The whole France team, including its talismanic captain Thierry Henry, was booed off the field. Following an unconvincing qualifying campaign, France produced another below par performance and was taught a harsh lesson with less than 100 days to go before the World Cup begins. France's best chance came in the 80th minute, when substitute Florent Malouda headed Djibril Cisse's cross onto the post. Italy, Cameroon draw In Monte Carlo, Monaco, Italy and Cameroon, both sides playing experimental teams ahead of the World Cup, played out a lackluster goaless draw in Monaco. Other results: Portugal 2 China 0; Scotland 1 Czech Republic 0; Albania 1 Northern Ireland 0; Belgium 0 Croatia 1; Netherlands 2 US 1; Slovenia 4 Qatar 1; Wales 0 Sweden 1; Austria 2 Denmark 1; Luxembourg 1 Azerbaijan 2; Switzerland 1 Uruguay 3; Poland 2 Bulgaria 0; South Africa 1 Namibia 1; Hungary 1 Russia 1; Romania 0 Israel 2; Malta 1 Finland 2; Turkey 2 Honduras 0; Algeria 0 Serbia 3; Kazakhstan 0 Moldova 1; Nigeria 5 DR Congo 2; Bosnia 2 Ghana 1; Angola 1 Latvia 1; Cyprus 0 Iceland 0; Slovakia 0 Norway 1; Armenia 1 Belarus 3; Macedonia 2 Montenegro 1; Ivory Coast 0 South Korea 2; Greece 0 Senegal 2; Georgia 2 Estonia 1.
