Brazil continued their dominance over England with a 1-0 friendly win on Saturday but 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa's troubles persisted with a 0-0 draw at home to Japan on coach Carlos Alberto Parreira's second debut.
Spain added to Diego Maradona's worries by beating his Argentina side 2-1 thanks to two Xabi Alonso goals, including a late penalty, as the teams already qualified for South Africa began their preparations.
Maradona faces a FIFA disciplinary tribunal in Zurich on Sunday over his unruly behaviour following last month's win in Uruguay which clinched his team's place at the World Cup.
He could receive a ban which would sideline him from part of the tournament.
In other games between qualified teams, Slovakia beat the United States 1-0 while the Denmark-South Korea and Italy-Netherlands matches ended in goalless stalemates.
England last beat Brazil in March 1990 and their injury-weakened team rarely looked like ending that record. The eight meetings since then, including Saturday's in Qatar, have seen four Brazil wins and four draws.
Nilmar headed the only goal two minutes after halftime, then Luis Fabiano missed a penalty and Lucio thundered a shot against the post as Brazil continued to press.
In South Africa, Parreira, who was appointed for the first time in 2007 but quit last year after his wife fell ill, returned to the helm to replace compatriot Joel Santana following a long losing run.
