Brazil cruised to a 2-0 win against South American rival Argentina in their highly anticipated friendly on Saturday at the Beijing National Stadium in China.
Diego Tardelli took the spotlight for Selecao as he scored two goals - one in the 28th minute and another one in the 64th minute of the match, giving new coach Dunga another win since taking over following their disappointing performance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Argentina defender Pablo Zabaleta expressed frustration after the match, saying that he hates losing more so against their rivals, Brazil, but he quickly added that the loss will is a part of their learning process under new coach Gerardo Martino, who also replaced Alejandro Sabella after the World Cup.
"We are in a changing process, with a new manager," Zabaleta said via ESPN FC. "It will take a while until we know each other better. I hate losing, and more so against Brazil, but it is part of the learning."
Argentina had a chance to level when Brazil was only ahead 1-0, but superstar forward Lionel Messi missed a penalty kick. After the match, Messi said that the missed penalty along with the defensive error from Federico Fernandez and Pablo Zabaleta in the 28th minute led to the loss.
"We were always trying to win the match but we couldn't," Messi said. "The match was determined by our two errors. The error in the first goal and the penalty were the defining factors. If it had been converted, it would have changed the match."
Brazilian goalkeeper Jefferson expressed elation after saving a penalty kick from Messi, which was only the FC Barcelona superstar's 13th miss from the spot. The 31-year-old goalie said after the match that he studied Messi's previous penalty along with Brazil goalkeeping coach Taffarel heading into the international friendly.
"I have studied the way Lionel Messi takes penalties," Jefferson said via Goal. "I waited until the very last second to dive, so the penalty-taker has less chance. He took it on his best side, and I was very happy to save it."
Brazil gave Dunga his third win as many games since the 2014 FIFA World Cup, while Argentina failed to duplicate their 4-2 win against Germany last month.
Watch the highlights of the Brazil-Argentina international friendly match below.
