Neymar closed in on Pele's all-time Brazil goalscoring record as the Selecao eased to a commanding 5-1 win over 10-man Tunisia at the Parc des Princes.
Playing on his home ground at club level, the Paris Saint-Germain forward netted his 75th senior international goal from the penalty spot – moving two shy of equalling the tally of legendary striker Pele.
Raphinha struck twice, while Richarlison and Pedro were also on target as Tite's side completed their World Cup preparations in emphatic fashion.
Montassar Talbi scored what proved a consolation for Tunisia, who had Dylan Bronn sent off as they suffered their first defeat in eight games.
Brazil led in the 11th minute when Casemiro's floated ball into the box was met by Raphinha, who sent a looping header beyond the dive of Aymen Dahmen.
Tunisia responded as Talbi nodded in from Anis Ben Slimane's free-kick, but the Selecao regained the lead less than two minutes later with Richarlison latching onto Raphinha's neat throughball and drilling through Dahmen's legs.
Neymar made it 3-1 when he calmly converted from 12 yards after Aissa Laidouni dragged down Casemiro, before Raphinha fired home his second goal of the game from Richarlison's lay-off.
Tunisia were reduced to 10 men before the break with Bronn shown a straight red card for a rash challenge on Neymar.
Antony and Vinicius Junior went close to increasing the advantage in the second half, before Pedro scored Brazil's fifth 16 minutes from time – the Flamengo forward brilliantly volleying in his first international goal.
Casemiro and Thiago Silva each almost made it six, but the Selecao had already done more than enough to stretch their unbeaten streak to 15 matches.
Tite has revealed Barcelona asked Brazil to be careful with Raphinha after losing four players to injury during the international break.
Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie De Jong and Memphis Depay have sustained injuries while they have been away playing for their countries.
Raphinha played 80 minutes of Brazil's 3-0 friendly win over Ghana on Friday and could face Tunisia on Tuesday.
Selecao head coach Tite says Barca requested that the winger's workload is managed.
He said: "In order for there to be maximum transparency, I tell you that today the Barcelona coaching staff spoke to our physical trainer and asked us to be careful of Raphinha.
"They have lost Araujo and for this reason they are worried. They asked us how the player is, if he is training well.
"The calendar of the big clubs is very congested and this worries us because until we meet for the World Cup, the players will play two games a week."
Raphinha has started four of the Blaugrana's six LaLiga matches this season following his big-money move from Leeds United and was on the field for just over an hour in a Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.
Mitch Duke and debutant Jason Cummings scored as Australia beat New Zealand 2-0 in Auckland on Sunday to secure back-to-back wins over the All Whites ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
The Socceroos had beaten New Zealand 1-0 in Brisbane on Thursday and triumphed again at Eden Park despite fielding an entirely different starting XI, netting twice in the second half.
New Zealand arguably were the better side in the first half with a handful of half chances, but lost star striker Chris Wood to an apparent rib injury in the 32nd minute.
Marco Tilio inexplicably missed a golden opportunity on the stroke of half-time from Duke's cutback before the Japan-based forward headed in Connor Metcalfe's cross in the 54th minute.
The hosts had a sniff in the 68th minute when Harrison Delbridge turned over possession in a dangerous area but substitute Alexander Greive fired straight at Australia goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne.
Exciting Socceroos teenager Garang Kuol made his debut as a substitute and burst forward to set up Riley McGree's chance, which was saved before Cummings' rebound was handballed by Liberato Cacace, resulting in an Australia penalty.
Scotland-born Cummings stepped up and converted the 81st-minute spotkick to secure the win in Australia's final game before announcing their World Cup squad.
Hirving Lozano netted a late goal to earn Mexico an uninspiring 1-0 victory over Peru in their friendly in Pasadena on Saturday.
El Tri, who will play three more games prior to the 2022 World Cup, were made to work hard for the win in an evenly contested match with few shots on target.
Lozano's 85th-minute strike was the difference, firing home on the volley after Cesar Montes had nodded on a corner.
Mexico forward Henry Martin pushed a 19th-minute header wide, while Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez fired a long-range effort over the crossbar early in the second half.
Peru, who missed out on World Cup qualification to Australia in the playoffs, had 9-7 shots and marginally edged possession but failed to generate much in attack.
Mexico, who are grouped with Poland, Argentina and Argentina at the World Cup, will take on Colombia in Santa Clara on Tuesday.
Hirving Lozano netted a late goal to earn Mexico an uninspiring 1-0 victory over Peru in their friendly in Pasadena on Saturday.
El Tri, who will play three more games prior to the 2022 World Cup, were made to work hard for the win in an evenly contested match with few shots on target.
Lozano's 85th-minute strike was the difference, firing home on the volley after Cesar Montes had nodded on a corner.
Mexico forward Henry Martin pushed a 19th-minute header wide, while Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez fired a long-range effort over the crossbar early in the second half.
Peru, who missed out on World Cup qualification to Australia in the playoffs, had 9-7 shots and marginally edged possession but failed to generate much in attack.
Mexico, who are grouped with Poland, Argentina and Argentina at the World Cup, will take on Colombia in Santa Clara on Tuesday.
Espanyol will demand "corrective measures" from organisers of Friday's friendly between Morocco and Chile following incidents during and after the match at RCDE Stadium.
Fans forced their way into the stadium and there was a pitch invasion after Morocco's 2-0 victory at the home of Espanyol.
The LaLiga club will be seeking answers to ensure there will be no repeat of the scenes.
A club statement said: "RCD Espanyol de Barcelona regret the incidents that occurred this Friday at the RCDE Stadium, during the international friendly match between Morocco and Chile.
"As with other events promoted by third parties, in accordance with the contract for the use of the facility and appealing to the responsibility of this third party in all matters related to the event, the club will demand corrective measures be taken by match organisers regarding every action that has an impact on the integrity of elements of the stadium.
"This experience will be taken into account to attempt to avoid a repeat of such incidents in future events organised by third parties at our facilities.
"Since its inauguration, the RCDE Stadium has hosted many matches and events that have taken place without incident.
"This year, after the conclusion of the 2021/22 LaLiga season, another international friendly and two concerts were held that highlighted the potential of our facility to hold such events.
"The RCDE Stadium is a top-level facility and a source of pride for RCD Espanyol, which brings in revenue and strengthens our club brand on both a local and international level."
Barcelona have confirmed Ronald Araujo suffered a thigh injury while on international duty with Uruguay, adding to the Blaugrana's defensive problems after Jules Kounde sustained a hamstring injury.
Araujo was substituted just five minutes into Uruguay's 1-0 friendly loss to Iran in Austria on Friday, having pulled up less than a minute into the match.
Earlier on Friday, the French Football Federation announced Jules Kounde was to leave Didier Deschamps' squad after being replaced during their Nations League win over Austria on Thursday.
Barcelona have now revealed the nature of the duo's injuries, with Araujo suffering an avulsion fracture in his right thigh and Kounde having a biceps femoris injury in his left hamstring.
A statement from the Blaugrana did not specify a timeframe for the return of either defender, but reports in Spain have suggested both could be out of action for around a month.
Losing both Araujo and Kounde for any significant period of time would be a major blow for Xavi, who has made the pair defensive mainstays in his new-look team.
Araujo has started all six of Barca's fixtures in LaLiga this season, while Kounde – who has filled in at right-back since his move from Sevilla – has recorded two assists in three league outings for the Catalan giants.
Argentina star Lionel Messi believes he is beginning to find his feet at Paris Saint-Germain, having required a year to settle in after his move to France.
Messi scored just 11 goals in 34 appearances during his first season at PSG in 2021-22, but has already struck six times in 11 outings for the Ligue 1 giants this campaign.
The former Barcelona man is also enjoying himself on the international stage, scoring twice and adding an assist as Argentina extended their unbeaten run to 34 matches with a 3-0 friendly win over Honduras on Friday.
Messi led his team for shots on target (three), touches in the opposition box (nine), crosses (three) and successful dribbles (two) in Miami, completing the scoring with a sumptuous 20-yard chip in the second half.
Speaking to TyC Sports after the victory, Messi compared his current form favourably with that of last season.
"I feel good, different from last year and I knew it was going to be like that," Messi said.
"Last year, as I already said, I had a bad time, I never finished finding myself and this one is different.
"I arrived with a different head, more accommodated to the club, to the locker room, to the game, to my team-mates.
"The truth is that I feel very good and I have enjoyed myself again."
Friday's brace took Messi to 88 goals in 163 senior international caps, and he will join a select group of players to have appeared in five separate World Cups when Argentina begin their campaign against Saudi Arabia on November 22.
The PSG forward believes Lionel Scaloni's men are in a good place as their trip to Qatar approaches and is trying not to think about the possibility of his team suffering injuries before the event.
He added: "It is complicated - there are many games and little rest time, but you have to face it as always.
"If you are going to play matches thinking about the World Cup, taking care of yourself or not messing up, then in the end it can be worse.
"I am one of those who think that things happen because they happen and if things have to happen they will happen. God willing nothing happens to anyone and we can all arrive at the World Cup as we are.
"We are enjoying every moment that we are together and seriously preparing ourselves when it is time to work, working on many things because it is the last time that we all have to be together, and there will not be much time before the first World Cup match.
"So, we took the opportunity to continue growing what we know and trying new things as well."
Argentina were too good in their dominant 3-0 friendly win against Honduras on Friday, with two goals and an assist from Lionel Messi in a starring performance.
Messi set up a goal and finished a penalty in an excellent first half, before capping off the outing with a long-range chip to capitalise on a defensive mistake.
Julian Alvarez and Giovani Lo Celso also manufactured openings as Argentina racked up 17 shots to Honduras' two, but ultimately this would be the Messi show.
Argentina opened the scoring in the 16th minute, when Messi delivered a spectacular ball from the centre of the park to find Papu Gomez on his run into the box from the left wing, giving him the chance to roll a simple squaring pass to Lautaro Martinez in the six-yard box for a tap-in.
Messi's creativity was on full display again to create the second goal, with an almost identical pass finding Lo Celso breaking into the box from the left wing, before the desperate Honduran defence pulled him down for a penalty.
Messi stepped up to the spot himself and made no mistake, calmly sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and rolling the ball into the bottom-right corner.
Argentina took their foot off the pedal in the second half, but when a mistake in defence saw a loose ball fall for Messi just outside the edge of the penalty area, with no defender between him and the goal, he caught everyone off guard with an audacious and picture-perfect first-time chip over Luis Lopez's head.
What does it mean? Unbeatable Argentina's streak remains intact
With the win, Argentina remain undefeated in their 34 matches since last losing to Brazil in the Copa America semi-final back in 2019. They are three matches away from tying Italy for the longest international unbeaten streak – a mark they set just last year.
Messi magic at the centre of Argentinian attack
The Paris Saint-Germain star led his team in nearly every important statistical category, including shots on target (three), touches in opposition box (nine), crosses (three) and successful dribbles (two).
His ability to pick out smart runs from the left wing behind the defence was directly responsible for both of the first two goals, and his chip finish for the third was sublime.
Lonely day up top for Quioto
Honduras striker Romell Quioto had very little supply all day as his side finished with 33 per cent possession, but he did himself no favours.
Of his four passes in the final-third, only one found a teammate, and he finished with no shots and no chances created before being subbed off in the 83rd minute.
What's next?
Argentina are scheduled to take on Jamaica in their next friendly on Tuesday in what will be their last match before jetting off to Qatar. Honduras will host Guatemala, also on Tuesday.
Brazil head coach Tite has praised the "impressive" performance of his side regaining possession against Ghana.
The South American side blitzed to a 3-0 win against their African opponents in a friendly in France, Marquinhos opening the scoring inside nine minutes before Richarlison struck a brace before the break.
Victory in Le Havre raises optimism for the five-time World Cup champions before the tournament later this year, with Tite's side excelling in the final third and putting their opponents to the sword.
However, Tite was impressed by the display of his side without possession against Ghana as they quickly responded to win the ball back.
"In the first half, the team mobilised to, after losing possession, immediately regain control of the ball," he said.
"There are several different ways to call it: lose-and-press, five seconds of madness, everyone uses a different term. But our speed in regaining possession was impressive.
"When the balls stopped, the team also went well, it was clean. Coming to France, without the athletes having to change time zone, helped."
In the second half, Brazil were unable to perform entirely up to the standard they displayed in the opening 45 minutes but Tite believes doing so would not have been possible.
"In the first half, the team had pace and the performance, they dominated and controlled. In the second half, Ghana managed to control for 15 minutes, we could not finish them as they had a wall of five players," he explained.
"At the same time, we were solid. If we didn't create, we didn't let our opponent create either. With the entry of fresh players [off the bench], we regained dominance.
"Then we had clear chances to extend our lead. Matheus Cunha had two clear chances, there were chances with Neymar, Rodrygo, Paqueta.
"So, the team was able to do well in these different stages but being equal to what we did in the first half does not always work."
Brazil face Tunisia on Tuesday in their final game before the World Cup commences in Qatar in November.
Richarlison scored twice as Brazil beat Ghana 3-0 in Le Havre, an early tease of the Selecao's strength before they go after a sixth World Cup title.
Neymar pulled the strings in the first half, setting up both of Tottenham frontman Richarlison's goals after Marquinhos put them into an early lead.
There was a late booking for Neymar after he took too firm a nibble at Mohammed Kudus, the player who scored for Ajax against Liverpool in the Champions League.
But nothing could spoil Brazil's night in Normandy as Tite's team wrapped up a convincing win.
The opening goal came in the ninth minute when Raphinha's devilishly powerful corner from the right swung in and was met with a thumping header from Marquinhos.
Raphinha, Neymar and Vinicius Junior failed to take chances before Richarlison showed how it is done in the 28th minute, sweeping a crisp and low first-time shot into the bottom-right corner from Neymar's pass.
Brazil's third arrived in the 40th minute when Neymar took on set-piece duties on the left and whipped a dangerous free-kick into the near post where Richarlison's header gave Jojo Wollacott little chance.
Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams made his Ghana debut, coming on for the start of the second half after switching allegiance from Spain. Brazil also threw on Bremer for a debut, the Juventus central defender taking the place of Thiago Silva.
Ghana went close to pulling one goal back when Andre Ayew headed against the crossbar in the 57th minute, while Williams proved to be a dangerous new presence in the Black Stars' attack.
Brazil had riches in reserve though, and Tite withdrew Richarlison, Vinicius and Casemiro just after the hour mark, with Fabinho, Antony and Matheus Cunha coming on.
Raphinha could not quite reach a dangerous ball across goal from Lucas Paqueta, and Cunha saw a close-range effort deflect over the bar, as Brazil chased in vain for a fourth late in the game.
Japan stepped up their World Cup preparations with a deserved 2-0 friendly win over the United States on Friday, as Gregg Berhalter's team produced a flat performance in Dusseldorf, Germany.
With Chelsea's Christian Pulisic left out after sustaining a minor injury in training, the USA struggled from the first whistle and fell behind to Daichi Kamada's side-footed finish.
Berhalter's team were indebted to Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner for keeping the game alive after the break, but he could do nothing to prevent Kaoru Mitoma picking his spot to seal Japan's victory late on.
Turner got down to his right to deny Kamada with a reflex save 13 minutes in, but was beaten by the Eintracht Frankfurt man when he tucked a neat first-time finish into the bottom-right corner after 24 minutes.
The offside flag looked set to deny Japan, but the goal was awarded following a VAR review after Walker Zimmerman was shown to have played Kamada onside as he latched onto Hidemasa Morita's pass.
Turner was forced to divert another Kamada effort away from the bottom-right corner after 65 minutes, and made a fine reflex save to tip Ritsu Doan's strike over the crossbar 10 minutes later.
Brenden Aaronson's wild effort was the closest the USA came to a response, and Mitoma made Japan's win safe by curling into the bottom-right corner from long range with two minutes remaining, as Turner's resistance finally waned.
Awer Mabil's fine strike gave Australia a 1-0 win over New Zealand in the final home game for the Socceroos before their World Cup trip in November.
The Cadiz winger struck in style in the 32nd minute at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Jackson Irvine won possession in midfield before feeding Mabil, who cut in from the left flank and fired into the bottom-left corner from 22 yards.
These teams meet again at Eden Park on Sunday, and New Zealand, who missed out on World Cup qualification when they lost in a play-off to Costa Rica, should take heart from Thursday's display.
The visitors almost snatched a 10th-minute lead when Chris Wood's flick-on put Andre de Jong in on goal, and he jabbed a foot wide of the left post after getting behind the Australia defence.
Irvine missed the target from a big chance for Graham Arnold's Australia, and was then penalised for a questionable push when the hosts got the ball in the net in the 28th minute.
Mabil's goal four minutes later meant that was soon forgotten, with Australia settling for a narrow win in the end after Mathew Leckie shot against the outside of the left post late on, via a faint touch from New Zealand goalkeeper Oliver Sail.
The World Cup in Qatar is now just two months away and the first international break of the season is the final opportunity for squads to convene before coming together for the tournament.
In Europe, the Nations League offers competitive action in the build-up to Qatar, while teams elsewhere will face friendlies.
With a mid-season window and just one break before the action commences in November, it presents a challenge for any new faces to establish themselves in their international side before the squad for the World Cup is selected.
Some have been handed glorious opportunities though and Stats Perform has assessed some of the newcomers.
Ivan Toney
England's main striker role is nailed down by skipper Harry Kane but the role of understudy is a competitive one with the likes of Callum Wilson, Tammy Abraham and Ollie Watkins having earned opportunities – and Ivan Toney is the latest to join that list.
Quickly settling into life in the Premier League, Toney netted 12 goals for Brentford in their inaugural campaign last season but has hit new heights in 2022, scoring 13 goals this calendar year.
Toney doesn't just offer goals, though, as he has also contributed seven assists since August 2021, totalling 24 goal involvements (17 goals, 7 assists) in that period, with Kane (31) the only English player to have more in the Premier League.
This season, Toney has five goals and two assists for Brentford, with a tally of seven goal involvements only bettered by Erling Haaland (12) in the Premier League.
Nico Williams
Brother of Inaki Williams, capped once by Spain in a friendly before switching allegiances to Ghana, 20-year-old Nico Williams has been handed a chance by Luis Enrique, who insists the decision is not to ensure he doesn't follow in the footsteps of his sibling.
The right-winger has established himself in Athletic Bilbao's first-team and has made a firm impact this season, scoring twice – including in the recent 3-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano, which marked the first time both he and Inaki had scored in the same match.
Williams' role with Athletic will continue to grow, having only recently become a regular starter for the Basque side towards the end of last season and now starting five of Athletic's six LaLiga matches.
Securing a spot on the plane for Qatar will not be easy considering the vast competition, but Williams may get his opportunity due to his age, with a forward line of the future potentially being created alongside Yeremy Pino and Ferran Torres.
Kenneth Taylor
Only earning his first start for Ajax in the Eredivisie last season, Kenneth Taylor has become a mainstay in the side this term with five starts across six league appearances for the Dutch champions, following Ryan Gravenberch's move to Bayern Munich.
The 20-year-old has grabbed his opportunity with both hands, scoring three goals and contributing two assists in the league. His control on the ball has also been impressive, misplacing 41 of 352 passing attempts in the Eredivisie for an accuracy of 88 per cent.
In the Champions League, Taylor has yet find the net or contribute an assist, but he has caught the eye. In the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, he won three tackles, the joint-most in the Ajax side, and completed 92 per cent of his passes.
Those performances have earned Taylor a call-up to Louis van Gaal's squad ahead of Gravenberch, who has been capped 10 times by the Netherlands but has found playing time difficult to come by since moving to Bayern.
Enzo Fernandez
Only arriving at Benfica from River Plate ahead of the current season, Enzo Fernandez has quickly made an impression in Portugal, where he was named the Primeira Liga's Midfielder of the Month.
In the third qualifying round of the Champions League, the Argentine struck in both legs against Midtjylland and made a significant impression in the 2-1 group stage win against Juventus – with the most touches (92), pass attempts (71) and accurate passes (68) of his team, as well as the highest pass completion percentage (96%).
He also won 12 duels and won possession on 12 occasions, both tallies that were bettered by none of his team-mates.
His form has already seen him linked with Liverpool, just months after his arrival in European football, and the 21-year-old could be once to watch in Qatar if he secures a seat on the plane.
Borja Iglesias
At the age of 29, Borja Iglesias is finally poised to make his international bow with Spain after a sensational calendar year in which he has scored 18 LaLiga goals – with only Real Madrid's Karim Benzema (28) scoring more.
Six of those goals have come in the opening six matches of the 2022-23 season, from which Real Betis have won 15 points to sit behind only Barcelona and Real Madrid in the early-season standings.
Robert Lewandowski (8) is the sole player to score more LaLiga goals than Iglesias this season and he has averaged a goal every 103 minutes, though he is yet to feature in the club's Europa League campaign thus far.
Spain's lack of central striking options may well play into Iglesias' hands in his bid to make the World Cup squad, with the 28-man party for September's Nations League fixtures having only Alvaro Morata as the other natural option through the middle.
Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey and West Ham United’s Michail Antonio headline a 23-member Reggae Boyz squad to face two-time World Cup winners Argentina in an International Friendly in the United States on September 27.
The squad, unveiled by the Jamaica Football Federation on Monday, also includes six reserves.
This will be the third meeting between the two teams.
They first met in the group Stages of the 1998 FIFA World Cup when Argentina secured a 5-0 victory while their second time opposing each other came 17 years later in the Group Stage of the 2015 Copa America with Argentina once again coming out on top 1-0.
The full squad reads as follows:
RESERVES
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