Ronaldinho leads Brazil

Brazil forward Ronaldinho (R) tries to get past Algeria defender Chadli Amri during their international friendly football match at the Mosson Stadium in Montpellier, southern France, on Wednesday.Photo: AFP

Maicon and Ronaldinho scored second-half goals Wednesday to give Brazil a 2-0 win over Algeria in a friendly international.
However, world champions Italy were upset by Hungary 3-1, joining England, Argentina, the Netherlands and the United States on the losing side in exhibition games.
Maicon nodded in a corner kick from Ronaldinho in the 63rd minute, and the Barcelona playmaker doubled the lead in the 81st by tucking home a low shot from Diego that was deflected by goalkeeper Lounes Gaouaoui.
"It's a pleasure to come back in France, have a good game, and help the Selecao," Ronaldinho said.
Brazil dominated ball possession in the first half but failed to convert that into goals.
Maicon connected with Robinho in the sixth, but the Real Madrid forward's curling drive was punched away by Gaouaoui. The Algeria goalkeeper then denied Elano in the eighth, and blocked an angled shot from Julio Baptista in the 30th.
Mineiro slipped a through ball to Vagner Love in the 34th, but Gaouaoui rushed outside his area to stop the CSKA Moscow striker.
Algeria retaliated on counterattacks. Set up by Karim Ziani, Rafik Saifi broke the offside trap in the 23rd. But Saifi lost his one-on-one dual against goalkeeper Doni, who tackled the ball as the Lorient forward attempted to dribble past him.
"We played some nice football," Ziani said. "We don't have to be ashamed. ... We have to keep on improving so that we can become competitive in Africa."
Ronaldinho and Kaka came off the bench in the second half to boost Brazil's offence.
Ronaldinho had a curling freekick on target in the 47th, but Gaouaoui made the save. The Barcelona playmaker crossed the ball to Kaka in the 60th but the AC Milan midfielder's volley from the edge of the box was diverted by defender Ismael Bouzid.
Algeria had opportunities to score a consolation goal in the second half but lacked the finishing touch.
Karim Matmour stole the ball in midfield in the 57th to shoot from the edge of the box, but Doni made the save.
Nadir Belhadj's cross from the left flank in the 68th found Saifi in the area but his header went wide.
"We played against a great Brazilian team this evening," Saifi said. "The most important is to qualify for the African Cup tournament."
Algeria take on Gambia in an African Cup of Nations qualifier on September 9.
The Montpellier friendly was Brazil's first match after their victory in the Copa America last July in Venezuela.
Brazil will face the United States and Mexico on September 9 and 12 respectively before starting 2010 World Cup qualifying in October.
In Rome, second-half substitute Antonio Di Natale put the Azzurri ahead but Hungary took advantage of three defensive mistakes and rallied with goals from Roland Juhasz, Zoltan Gera and Robert Feczesin.
"We came up against a team that was fresher than us and more interested in taking control of the game," Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said. "We played well for stretches in the first half, then we lost our focus when it was 1-1."
Argentina lost 2-1 at Norway, the Netherlands lost 2-1 at Switzerland and the United States lost 1-0 at Sweden.
France won 1-0 at Slovakia, Spain won 3-2 at Greece and Ireland won 4-0 at Denmark.
Jaime Castrillon scored in the 53rd minute to give Colombia a 1-0 victory over Mexico at Commerce City and Costa Rica tied visiting Peru 1-1.
At Oslo, John Carew converted an early penalty kick and added another goal in the second half, giving him 19 goals in 64 games for Norway. Maxi Rodriguez got Argentina's consolation goal.
"Norway have a very strong team," Argentina coach Alfio Basile said. "They were simply fantastic in the air. But I'm not disappointed. It was a good test. I'm glad we were able to try many new players."
At Geneva, Tranquillo Barnetta scored from the spot for Switzerland, then beat goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg in the 51st. Within seconds of the restart, substitute Dirk Kuyt scored for the Dutch.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy played his first international match since falling out with Netherlands coach Marco van Basten at last year's World Cup.
Kim Kallstrom struck the lone goal to lead Sweden over the United States at Goteborg, sending the Americans to their first four-game losing streak since 1997.
At Trnava, Slovakia, Thierry Henry scored on a quick free kick for his 40th international goal and moved within one of Michel Platini's French record.
Spain rallied at Thessaloniki, getting two second-half goals from David Silva. Carlos Marchena got Spain's other goal, while Fanis Gekas and Costas Katsouranis scored for Greece. Former captain Theo Zagorakis played his 120th and final game for Greece -- a national record.
Ireland won at Denmark with two goals each from Robbie Keane and substitute Shane Long.