With international games taking place right across the globe yesterday, we aren’t short of matches to report on. As usual, here’s a heads-up on those fixtures that featured Premier League protagonists, with minutes played and attacking returns listed for each and every one…
Albania 1 Iceland 2
Gylfi Sigurdsson played the full 90 minutes and grabbed the winner as Iceland earned a crucial three points. The Spurs midfielder fired home a free-kick with less than 10 minutes remaining on the clock.
Turkey 0 Romania 1
Nuri Sahin was handed a brief sub appearance for the hosts; the Liverpool midfielder climbed off the bench with nine minutes remaining. West Brom’s Gabriel Tamas played the full 90 minutes for the visitors.
Bulgaria 1 Denmark 1
Only one Premier League player of note in this match. Liverpool’s Daniel Agger completed the 90 minutes for the Danes without any problems.
Belarus 0 Spain 4
Santi Cazorla and David Silva both started for the defending champions – Cazorla lasted the full 90, while Silva was replaced by Andres Iniesta on 56 minutes. Pepe Reina and Fernando Torres were unused subs.
Slovakia 2 Latvia 1
A couple of Premier League centre-halves were in action here. Martin Skrtel started for the hosts but was subbed off just before the final whistle, while Reading’s Kasparss Gorkss played the entire match for Latvia.
Macedonia 1 Croatia 2
West Brom’s Goran Popov started at left-back for the home side, though was subbed off on 82 minutes due to tactical reasons. Nikica Jelavic was named in the visitors’ first XI and was afforded just over an hour’s run out before making way.
Serbia 0 Belgium 3
Branislav Ivanovic, Aleksandar Kolarov and Matija Nastasic were all part of the home defence for the 3-1 defeat to Belgium. The visitors had plenty of Premier League stars in action. Thomas Vermaelen and Jan Vertonghen were joined by Vincent Kompany in the back-four, with the City skipper recovering from the calf problem that ruled him out of the Gameweek 7 win over Sunderland. Eden Hazard, Moussa Dembele and Christian Benteke also featured; while the Chelsea winger was subbed off on 55 minutes, the latter two grabbed an assist and goal respectively. Everton’s Kevin Mirallas climbed off the bench with three minutes remaining but still found enough time to score his nation’s third.
Estonia 0 Hungary 1
West Brom midfielder Zoltan Gera was named in the Hungary starting XI – the Baggies man came through 79 minutes before being replaced for the visitors.
Holland 3 Andorra 0
Robin Van Persie’s Fantasy owners will be breathing a little easier after the United man was left on the subs bench last night. Johnny Heitinga and Ron Vlaar played the full 90 minutes in the heart of the Dutch defence.
Switzerland 1 Norway 1
Johan Djourou was handed a start for the home side before being subbed off just after the hour mark. Fulham pair John Arne Riise and Brede Hangeland played the full 90 for Norway and both were pivotal to last night’s result; Hangeland nodded home a Riise corner with less than 10 minutes left to earn the away side a point.
Wales 2 Scotland 1
Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, Ashley Williams, Steve Morison, David Vaughan, Ben Davies and Chris Gunter were all handed starts by Chris Coleman, while Hal Robson-Kanu climbed off the bench. Bale was the inspiration in his nation’s late comeback win; scoring from the spot before lashing home from 20 yards thanks to a Vaughan assist, he’s likely to pick up more Fantasy investment on the back of last night’s display. Ramsey is now suspended for Tuesday’s match with Croatia after picking up a booking.
Alan Hutton, Gary Caldwell, Danny Fox, Shaun Maloney, Darren Fletcher, James Morrison and Steven Fletcher were all part of Craig Levein’s XI. Morrison grabbed the opener thanks to a Fletcher assist before being withdrawn on 84 minutes, while Charlie Adam and Jamie Mackie both earned game time as second-half subs.
Republic of Ireland 1 Germany 6
Kieren Westwood, John O’Shea, James McCarthy, Seamus Coleman and Jon Walters all started for Giovanni Trapattoni’s side in a night to forget. Shane Long and United’s Robbie Brady climbed off the bench in the second half, with the latter providing an assist for the Republic’s late consolation.
Arsenal pair Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski both featured for Joachim Low’s side. The former played the full 90 in the heart of defence, while Podolski managed 24 minutes after climbing off the bench midway through the second-half.
Greece 0 Bosnia 0
Fulham’s Giorgos Karagounis was sent on as a sub for the hosts on 66 minutes. Asmir Begovic picked up another clean sheet, while Eden Dzeko was also given the full 90 minutes for the away side.
Russia 1 Portugal 0
Nani was given the full 90 minutes for the visitors but his ineffectual season continued as Fabio Capello’s side picked up the three points.
Czech Republic 3 Malta 1
Petr Cech played the full 90 minutes as Mikel Bilek’s side eased to a home win in their Group B qualifier.
Faroe Islands 1 Sweden 2
Jonas Olsson and Seb Larsson both managed the full match for the visitors. Fulham winger Alex Kacaniklic made an instant impact for the Swedes – climbing off the bench just after the hour mark, it took him just three minutes to find the net as the visitors came from behind to deny their hosts a famous victory.
Kazakhstan 0 Austria 0
Villa’s Andres Weimann was afforded a brief workout, coming off the bench for the away side with six minutes left on the clock.
England San Marino
England XI: Hart; Walker, Cahill, Lescott, Baines; Walcott (Lennon 10), Carrick, Cleverley, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Welbeck, Rooney.
United front pair Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck both bagged braces in a straightforward win, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain notching the fifth. Welbeck also provided an assist for a converted Rooney spot-kick after being fouled in the box, while Aaron Lennon and Tom Cleverley provided a pair of assists apiece. Rooney was afforded 73 minutes by Roy Hodgson before making way for Andy Carroll, while Jonjo Shelvey replaced Michael Carrick on 66 minutes. Theo Walcott was subbed off early after a nasty looking collision with the San Marino keeper – early reports suggest he has been taken to hospital for further tests on a suspected broken rib. Certainly, Roy Hodgson was sounding pessimistic in his post-match comments…
“He’s having a scan. It didn’t look too good, but until they have X-rayed it and scanned it, we really don’t know. It did put a dampener on the evening”
England U21 1 Serbia U21 0
Steven Caulker, Danny Rose, Craig Dawson, Raheem Sterling, Jack Rodwell and Jordan Henderson were all amongst the starters for Stuart Pearce’s side. West Brom’s Dawson grabbed the game’s only goal from the penalty spot, while Rodwell was replaced at half-time and Sterling subbed off on 66 minutes for Tottenham’s Andros Townsend.
Ecuador 3 Chile 1
West Brom’s Gonzalo Jara and Wigan’s Jean Beausejour both started for the visitors. The Baggies defender was afforded the full 90 minutes, though Beausejour was subbed off on 76 minutes.
France 0 Japan 1
Four Premier League players started for the beaten hosts. Hugo Lloris, Laurent Koscielny, Gael Clichy and Olivier Giroud were all handed 90 minutes, while United’s Shinji Kagawa and Southampton’s Maya Yoshida both played the full match for Japan.
Argentina 3 Uruguay 0
Sergio Aguero netted either side of Lionel Messi brace to help Argentina dominate their South American rivals. Aguero started the game but was replaced on 78 minutes with the game won. City team-mate Pablo Zabaleta played the full 90. Luis Suarez also completed a full match in opposition.
Antigua and Barbuda 1 USA 2
Former Fulham striker, Eddie Johnson, notched a brace to give the US a dramatic late victory here in a match that saw both Stoke’s Geoff Cameron and Tottenham’s Clint Dempsey complete 90 minutes. Tim Howard also played out the game in goal for the US.
Guyana 0 Mexico 5
Javier Hernandez struck one of the five goals as the Mexicans thrashed their hosts with a late flurry of goals – all five arriving in the final 15 minutes. Hernandez played his part, coming away with two assists in addition to Mexico’s fourth on the night as he played the entire 90 minutes.
El Salvador 0 Costa Rica 1
Everton’s Bryan Oviedo and Fulham’s Bryan Ruiz both started the match in El Salvador with Ruiz providing the layoff for Costa Rica’s deciding goal. He was later replaced at half-time with the home side dishing out some “strong challenges”. Some reports suggest that Ruiz suffered a knock – we’ll likely hear more before Coast Rica’s clash with Guyana on Tuesday.
Canada 3 Cuba 0
Norwich City’s Simeon Jackson played the full 90 minutes for the victorious Canadians against a Cuban side who could only put eleven players in opposition after four of their squad defected on arrival in Toronto.
Panama 0 Honduras 0
Wigan’s Maynor Figueroa was the only domestic player on show and he played the full 90 minutes of the goalless stalemate.
Tahiti 0 New Zealand 2
While both Ryan Nelsen and Winston Reid were unused subs in this game, Reid’s selection for the bench offers further reassurance that he’ll be in contention for West Ham on his return. Sam Allardyce has feared that Reid would be struggling to return for the Gameweek 8 clash having suffered a back spasm in the defeat to Arsenal.
