Scout Scribbles – International Round Up

Luis Suarez grabs a goal and a pair of assists in Uruguay’s win over Poland. Juan Mata provides an assist in Spain’s rout of Panama before making way at half-time, Christian Benteke is amongst the goals again for Belgium, while Sergio Aguero plays the full 90 minutes in Argentina’s goalless draw with Saudi Arabia. Here’s a quick round-up of last night’s game time for the Premier League protagonists:

Luis Suarez’s scintillating form shows little sign of letting up. He had a hand in all three of Uruguay’s goals last night, providing two assists and scoring the third in a 3-1 win in Poland. With a home clash against Wigan on the agenda, he’s already been snapped up in huge numbers – having come through last night’s match without injury, more investment can be expected.

Spain’s 5-1 win in Panama saw Juan Mata maintain his recent form by supplying an assist for his side’s third just prior to half-time –his Fantasy owners will be delighted to hear he was given just 45 minutes and was replaced at the break. Santi Cazorla’s owners will be even happier to discover the Arsenal playmaker was an unused sub last night, though both face a long-haul flight back home.

Having opened the scoring for Spurs at City last Sunday, Steven Caulker demonstrated his eye for goal by grabbing England’s second in last night’s 4-2 defeat by Sweden. Danny Welbeck also found the net for the visitors, while Jonas Olsson, Seb Larsson and Alex Kacaniklic all started for the hosts.

England Starting XI: Hart, Johnson (Jenkinson 75), Cahill, Caulker (Shawcross 75), Baines, Gerrard (Huddlestone 75), Osman, Cleverly (Wilshere 62), Sterling (Zaha 84), Welbeck, Young (Sturridge 61)

Newcastle’s Yohan Cabaye was an unused sub in France’s 2-1 win in Italy. Reports suggest the midfielder is now doubtful for the Magpies weekend home clash due to a groin problem sustained in last Sunday’s home defeat by West Ham. Hugo Lloris, Laurent Koscielny, Patrice Evra and Olivier Giroud all started for France, with the latter subbed off just after the hour mark ahead of Saturday lunchtime’s north London derby. Mario Balotelli played the full 90 for the beaten hosts.

Newcastle fans will be pleased to hear Cheick Tiote came through unscathed in Ivory Coast’s 3-0 win in Austria. Yaya and Kolo Toure both featured for the visitors – the latter was handed a 20 minute sub appearance in a match than also saw Villa’s weekend goal hero Andreas Weimann climb off the bench for the hosts.

Villa’s Christian Benteke continued his eye-catching recent form with Belgium’s opener in a surprise 2-1 defeat away to Romania. Simon Mignolet, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen and Marouane Fellaini were also amongst the starters for the beaten side, while West Brom’s Romelu Lukaku replaced Benteke just before the hour mark.

Sergio Aguero, Fabricio Coloccini and Pablo Zabaleta all played the entire match in Argentina’s bore draw with Saudi Arabia – the most notable event being the a debut for Wigan’s Franco Di Santo. The latter’s team mate Jean Beausejour started for Chile at home to Serbia; the visitors won 3-1, with Branislav Ivanovic and Matija Nastasic playing from start to finish – and Aleksandar Kolarov was withdrawn at half-time. West Brom’s Gonzalo Jara also featured for the hosts, while United’s new forward Angelo Henriquez climbed off the bench to notch his side’s consolation.

Brede Hangeland came through the full 90 minutes for Norway as they clinched a 2-0 win in Hungary. Fulham team mate Mark Schwarzer also played the full game as Australia triumphed 2-1 in South Korea, while Liverpool’s Nuri Sahin was subbed off five minutes from the end of Turkey’s home draw with Denmark.

Germany’s goalless draw with Holland saw a couple of Premier League centre-halves go head-to-head. Ron Vlaar and Per Mertesacker played the full match, while Lukas Podolski made an 18-minute sub appearance for the Joachim Lowe’s side. Spurs’ Emmanuel Adebayor scored the only goal in Togo’s win over Morocco.

West Ham’s Winston Reid was handed 77 minutes in New Zealand’s 1-1 draw with China, while Russia’s home clash with USA saw two Premier League regulars feature. Mark Schwarzer lasted the full match and Stoke’s Geoff Cameron was replaced after 87 minutes. Shola Ameobi made his debut for Nigeria in a 3-1 win over Venezuela, furthering his chances of appearing in this January’s African Cup of Nations.

After several midweek call-offs, Scotland fielded three Premier League players for last night’s win in Luxembourg, with Darren Fletcher, Steven Whittaker and Steven Naismith all playing the full match.

Republic of Ireland handed four Premier League players the full 90. John O’Shea, Ciaran Clark and Seamus Coleman featured in defence in the 1-0 home defeat by Greece, while James McClean was afforded a chance on the flank. The likes of Glenn Whelan, James McCarthy and Shane Long were subbed off in the second-half, while Wes Hoolahan was handed a chance to impress from the bench.

Northern Ireland drew 1-1 at home with Azerbaijan in a World Cup qualifier. Gareth McAuley, Aaron Hughes, Chris Baird, Shane Ferguson, Chris Brunt and Steven Davis all came through unscathed. Elsewhere in World Cup qualifiers, Ali Al Habsi and Maya Yoshida went head-to-head, as Oman lost 2-1 at home to Japan.

Chelsea’s trio of Brazilians – Ramires, David Luiz and Oscar all started in Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Columbia. While the former pair played the full 90, Oscar was subbed off with three minutes remaining. Man City’s Edin Dzeko and Stoke’s Asmir Begovic turned out for Bosnia in a farce of a game in Algeria, played out on a waterlogged pitch – the visitors eventually won the game in the final minute.