Suffo's late equaliser surprises Argentinians

Sheffield United's Patrick Suffo nodded a late equaliser as Cameroon battled back for a 2-2 draw against Argentina in Switzerland last night.

The Manchester United midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron, with a penalty, and Pablo Aimar had twice given England's World Cup group stage rivals the lead. But Samuel Eto'o and the substitute Suffo – one of the three players sent off in the recent "Battle of Bramall Lane" – ensured parity.

Sweden, who along with Nigeria and Argentina make up England's Group F, drew 1-1 against Switzerland, with the Everton winger Jesper Blomqvist marking his international comeback by setting up his side's goal for Marcus Allback in the 29th minute.

Germany, World Cup opponents of the Republic of Ireland, beat the United States 4-2 in Rostock despite falling behind to an 17th-minute opener from Clint Mathis. Tottenham's Christian Ziege, Oliver Neuville, Oliver Bierhoff and Torsten Frings all netted to put the Germans 4-1 up by the 68th minute before Mathis' second of the night proved to be merely a consolation.

Frank De Boer scored the Netherlands' winner in their 1-0 win over Spain in Rotterdam.

The World Cup co-hosts Japan kept their preparations for the tournament firmly on track with an impressive 2-0 victory over a strong Poland side in Lodz. Goals from the Parma midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata and Naohiro Takahara gave Philippe Troussier's side victory.