Internationals: Tevez off

Carlos Tevez and ex-United defender Gabriel Heinze both had a night to forget as Argentina's World Cup qualifying campaign stuttered on home soil.

Reds striker Tevez was sent off after just half an hour, for a second bookable offence, after Heinze had gifted Paraguay the lead with an own goal in the 12th minute. And although Argentina eventually equalised through sub Sergio Aguero, set up by Barcelona's Lionel Messi, coach Alfio Basile was bemused.

Basile moaned: "We had the worst luck and the sending off of Tevez knocked us back. It was a strange match but I was not happy with the (1-1) draw because I believe we deserved to win."

The result in Buenos Aires saw Paraguay stay top in the South American group, two points clear of Argentina.

The first World Cup qualifiers in Europe brought mixed fortunes for United's internationals. Wayne Rooney was on the winning side after 90 minutes in an England shirt, thanks to two goals from Chelsea's Joe Cole against Andorra. There was no place for Wes Brown, however, with Portsmouth's Glen Johnson preferred at right-back and Everton's Jolean Lescott deputising for Rio Ferdinand in the centre.

John O'Shea was also a winner, playing the full match at centre-back as the Republic of Ireland beat Georgia 2-1 in neutral Germany. But two United team-mates tasted defeat on their travels - Jonny Evans' Northern Ireland lost 2-1 in Slovakia while Darren Fletcher was in the Scotland side beaten 1-0 by Macedonia. Evans and Fletcher both played 90 minutes.

Patrice Evra also played a full game but had no luck in the number 13 shirt for France as they suffered a shock 3-1 reverse in Austria. Dimitar Berbatov was also heading for defeat with Bulgaria until Blagoi Georgiev made the final score in Montenegro 2-2 with an injury time equaliser.

Nani had no such trouble however with Portugal. The United winger, on from the start, scored the final goal in the 78th minute as Carlos Queiroz's men cruised to a comprehensive 4-0 win in Malta.

Nemanja Vidic also got off to a winning start in the World Cup qualifiers, completing 90 minutes on the field as Serbia beat Faroe Islands 2-0.