Spain edge Haiti in Confederations Cup tuneup

Barcelona star Cesc Fabregas and Arsenal winger Santi Cazorla each scored a goal to give reigning World Cup champion Spain a 2-1 victory over Haiti on Saturday in an international football friendly.

Cazorla, a midfielder earning his 53rd cap, blasted a left-footed shot from outside the top of the penalty area in the eighth minute to put the Spaniards ahead to stay and Fabregas followed with a header in the 19th minute.

The match also marked the return of Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas after not having played a competitive match for nearly five months. Casillas wore the captain’s armband in his 114th cap before leaving at half-time.

The 32-year-old Real Madrid goalkeeper suffered a hand injury in January that kept him out for two months and then failed to recover his place in the side for the rest of the season as Jose Mourinho kept Diego Lopez in place.

Wilde Guerrier netted a spectacular goal for Haiti in the 75th minute, faking a left-footed shot to freeze a line of Spanish defenders, then dribbling past them for a solo charge at second-half Spain goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

Guerrier pulled the ball left to evade Guerrier and he left-footed a sharp-angled shot into the far side of the open net.

Hot temperatures helped prepare Spain for conditions in South America for the upcoming Confederations Cup, although they helped keep the crowd to 36,535, about half the capacity of the home of American football’s Miami Dolphins.

In addition to preparing Haiti for next month’s North American Gold Cup tournament, the match was a charity benefit for Haitian relief efforts as the nation continues to rebuild from a 2010 earthquake that killed 250,000 people.

The Haitians, who suffered their fifth loss in a row, face Italy in Brazil on Tuesday, the same night the Spaniards meet Ireland in New York.