Round-up: Arsenal's Reyes gives Spain the strength to beat Ivorians

The Arsenal forward Jose Antonio Reyes scored an equaliser as Spain twice came from behind to beat Ivory Coast 3-2.

Abdulkader Keita put the Ivorians ahead and after David Villa levelled, Bonaventure Kalou restored the lead. But Reyes equalised with 16 minutes to go before the defender Juanito popped up with the winner five minutes from time.

France's World Cup preparations hit an unexpected hurdle as Slovakia beat Les Bleus at the Stade de France. The visitors threatened on the break during the first half, with Szilard Nemeth putting them ahead on the hour.

Sylvain Wiltord equalised 13 minutes later from the penalty spot but Slovakia had the final say when Jozef Valachovic fired home a free-kick.

A fortuitous 15th-minute goal by the Real Madrid striker Ronaldo helped Brazil to a hard-fought 1-0 win in freezing temperatures in Russia.

The Czech Republic, second only to Brazil in the Fifa world rankings, were held 2-2 in Istanbul by Turkey. Karel Poborsky's penalty and Jiri Stajner's goal gave the Czechs a lead which they defended to virtually the end. However, the Turkey substitute Umit Karan scored two goals in the last two minutes to earn a draw.

Argentina went down 3-2 defeat to Croatia in Basle, Switzerland. The game got off to an electric start, with Ivan Klasnic putting Croatia ahead, then Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi making it 2-1 to the South Americans with only six minutes played.

Darijo Srna squared the match seven minutes after the interval before Dario Simic sealed the win in injury time.

The Feyenoord striker Dirk Kuyt scored the only goal of the game as the Netherlands beat Ecuador at the Amsterdam ArenA.

Portugal beat Saudi Arabia 3-0 in Düsseldorf, with two goals from Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo and another from Chelsea's Maniche.

Serbia & Montenegro tuned up for the World Cup with a 1-0 win against Tunisia with the former Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman scoring the only goal.

The United States needed a Clint Dempsey goal to beat Poland 1-0 in a match between the two World Cup qualifiers in Germany.