Argentina beat Ireland 1 - 0 in team 's first match since Diego Costa 's reign ended . New France coach Laurent Blanc suffered 2 - 1 defeat in Norway after axing World Cup 23 . European champions Spain and runners - up The South Americans ' caretaker coach Sergio Batista fielded eight of the players who started in last month 's 4-0 World Cup quarterfinal thrashing by Germany in the friendly away to the Republic of Ireland , and came away with a 1-0 win thanks to Angel Di Maria 's first-half winner . Netherlands held to 1 - 1 draws . World Cup hosts South Africa beat quarterfinalists Brazil 1 - 0 in Johannesburg .
Argentina beat Ireland 1 - 0 in team 's first match since Diego Costa 's reign ended . New France coach Laurent Blanc suffered 2 - 1 defeat in Norway after axing World Cup 23 . European champions Spain and runners - up Netherlands held to 1 - 1 draws . World Cup hosts South Africa beat quarterfinalists Brazil 1 - 0 in Johannesburg .