Floodlight failure blacks out Argentina v Brazil friendly

Firefighters walk across the pitch after Argentina's supporters threw 'chipas' after the announcing of the suspension of the friendly (GETTY IMAGES)

Argentina's friendly against Brazil was abandoned before kick-off last night due to a floodlight failure at the Centenario stadium in the northern city of Resistencia.

The teams, picked only from domestic leagues, were due to meet for the second time in two weeks after Brazil won 2-1 in the first match of the "Superclasico of the Americas" doubleheader in Goiania on Sept. 19.

The players took the field and lined up for the anthems but Chilean referee Enrique Osses delayed kickoff until full lighting could be resorted after a generator failed.

The teams spent more than half an hour on the pitch warming up and chatting among themselves until they were led off again.

With no back-up generator available in the vicinity, Osses abandoned the match an hour after the scheduled 0100 GMT kickoff, embarrassing the Argentine Football Association (AFA), who had organised the match in Resistencia.

AFA sources said no new date was immediately available for the match since the international calendar was packed until the end of the year.

Brazil were fielding several first-choice players including Neymar, who scored the winner in Goiania with a last-minute penalty, while the best-known player in the Argentina team was World Cup winger Maxi Rodriguez.

Reuters