Internationals: Round-up

Many World Cup qualifiers have taken place in this final international break of 2021. Here’s how Premier League players have got on so far.

UK

On Friday, England ran riot in the first half against Albania, going 5-0 thanks to goals from Harry Maguire, Jordan Henderson and a Harry Kane hat-trick that FPL managers will hope is perfectly-timed, such is Tottenham’s good run of upcoming fixtures. Emile Smith-Rowe was rewarded for his fantastic Arsenal form by receiving a debut.

Che Adams bagged for Scotland as they defeated Andorra 2-0, with Sunday night bringing a Shane Duffy goal during Ireland’s comfortable win in Luxembourg.

EUROPE

Kai Havertz missed Germany’s 9-0 thumping of Liechtenstein due to illness but eased FPL fears by returning and scoring against Armenia on Sunday – a match where Ilkay Gundogan added two goals to his one on Thursday. There was a missed penalty for Teemu Pukki in Bosnia-Herzegovina but, soon after, he set up a Marcus Forss goal to seal an important 3-1 victory for Finland.

Christian Benteke opened proceedings during Belgium’s Saturday win over Estonia, although the weekend’s main headline came from Portugal’s dramatic late defeat to Serbia. The likes of Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias and Diogo Jota were rested during their disappointing 0-0 draw in Ireland, although qualification was still in their own hands ahead of Sunday’s match.

The trio returned to the starting XI and things seemed to be going well when Renato Sanches scored in the second minute, yet Dusan Tadic equalised and then crossed for a last-minute Aleksandar Mitrovic header that sent Serbia to Qatar 2022. The visitors went wild, as Cristiano Ronaldo slumped to the pitch knowing Portugal will have to qualify via the play-offs.

AFRICA

Sadio Mane concerned Liverpool supporters by being replaced with a rib injury after just 27 minutes of Senegal’s meeting with Togo. He returned to Liverpool early to be assessed, allowing Ismaila Sarr to take centre stage during Sunday’s 2-0 win over Congo. The Watford man scored both.

Premier League players had a fruitful weekend in African qualifiers, with goals for Moussa Djenepo (Rwanda 0-3 Mali, Thursday), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon 1-0 Libya, Friday) and Patson Daka (Zambia 4-0 Mauritania, Saturday).

There was a goal and assist for Said Benrahma during Algeria’s 4-0 win in Djibouti, with Riyad Mahrez playing the second half. The trio of Kelechi Iheanacho, Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi all started for Nigeria on Saturday but without a goal. However, Burnley’s in-form Maxwel Cornet just cannot stop scoring and notched another to help Ivory Coast defeat Mozambique 3-0.

OTHER

Brazil 1-0 Colombia brought starts for six Premier League stars – Raphinha, Gabriel Jesus, Alisson, Thiago Silva, Fred and Davinson Sanchez. There was also a 1-0 win for South Korea against United Arab Emirates on Thursday thanks to Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan, although concerns soon surfaced over the availability of Son Heung-min after a minor knock caused him to miss a weekend training session.

In North America, it didn’t take long for Michail Antonio to bag his first international goal for Jamaica – entering the field in the 74th minute and scoring eight minutes later. A late El Salvador equaliser pegged them back. Christian Pulisic put the United States ahead against Mexico, on their way to a 2-0 win that saw Raul Jimenez blank for the visitors.