International Scout Notes – Sunday

The Fantasy Premier League’s biggest midfield guns give it their Sunday best across Europe and Africa, while Harry Kane is at it again for an otherwise drab England.

Here are the notes from Sunday’s World Cup qualifiers.

Big hitters wield their influence

The four most popular midfielders in Fantasy Premier League were all in action last night.

And all four brought cheer, of varying sizes, to their owners.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (34.1%) hit a historic double for Egypt as they qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 27 years with a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Congo.

The Reds winger converted a 95th-minute penalty to win a tense match in which Premier League players Ahmed Hegazi, Ramadan Sobhi, who played 87 minutes, and Mohamed Elneny also featured, with West Brom centre-half Hegazi having one effort cleared off the line.

Salah now has seven goals in all competitions this season, but back-to-back matches against Manchester United and Chelsea will test a player whose 16.7% conversion rate is the second-worst among the top eight scorers from midfield.

United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan (32.3%) opened the scoring for Armenia in their 1-1 draw away in Kazakhstan.

Mkhitaryan is the fourth most sold player since Gameweek 7 came to an end, with 101,000+ managers seeking pastures new as United’s schedule also stiffens – Jose Mourinho’s men face Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea over their next four fixtures.

Spurs’ Dele Alli (27.4%) is just below Mkhitaryan in the transfers-out table as more than 96,000 FPL bosses have reacted to a barren spell in which he hasn’t scored in the league since Gameweek 3.

Alli did provide two assists in Gameweek 6’s win over West Ham and followed that up with another one for England last night as he was fouled for the decisive penalty in the Three Lions’ underwhelming 1-0 win in Lithuania.

Spurs’ schedule is another that is turning tough – BOU LIV mun CRY ars – and trust in Alli is suffering as a result.

The same can’t be said for Alli’s team-mate Christian Eriksen (25.7%), who scored for Denmark for the second consecutive match, converting a penalty in the Danes’ 1-1 draw with Romania.

Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen and Leicester City keeper Kasper Schmeichel played the full 90 minutes alongside Eriksen, with FPL managers divided as to the midfielder’s appeal – nearly 44,000 have moved him out this week, with another 36,000+ acquiring his services.

It’s Kane…again

One Spurs player seemingly impervious to the matter of fixtures is Harry Kane.

The in-form striker scored the winner in Lithuania – his second goal of the international break – and also has six goals from his last four league matches.

That run has persuaded over 280,000 managers to make him FPL’s most bought player of the Gameweek, although he played the full 180 minutes of October’s international schedule.

England boss Gareth Southgate chopped and changed over that break, with the 14.0%-owned Man City full-back Kyle Walker given the night off in Vilnius. Spurs’ Kieran Trippier (4.3%) took his place.

On the other flank, West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell played at left wing-back as the 11.4%-owned Southampton defender Ryan Bertrand returned to his club as a precaution following recent back problems.

The 8.7%-owned United striker Marcus Rashford did start both matches, however, as did Walker’s team-mate John Stones (7.9%).

But another City man, Raheem Sterling (6.1%) watched on from the bench.

Mustafi adds to Gunners’ concerns…

Arsenal centre-half Shkodran Mustafi lasted only 36 minutes of Germany’s 5-1 win over Azerbaijan before limping off with a thigh problem.

German coach Joachim Low appears pessimistic on the prognosis for the defender.

“I think Mustafi has a muscle tear. It looks a bit more serious. A hamstring injury to a muscle tear, we have to wait for the exact diagnosis, but he’ll probably be out for a long time.”

With Laurent Koscielny missing the Gameweek 7 victory over Brighton with ongoing Achilles problems, Arsene Wenger’s defence is suddenly appearing uncertain ahead of their visit to Watford next weekend.

The Gunners have kept four consecutive clean sheets prior to that Gameweek 8 trip, with Nacho Monreal collecting over 75,000 new owners as the third most signed defender over the break.

Calum Chambers is also recovering from a hip problem, so it would appear that Rob Holding (4.7) is set to retain his start in the back three should Mustafi – as expected – be sidelined for a sustained period.

Emre Can and Antonio Rudiger scored for the Germans, while Leroy Sane provided an assist in a convincing victory.

The Liverpool and Man City players started and finished the match, while Chelsea’s Rudiger came on in the 22nd minute.

Elsewhere…

A Chris Brunt own goal proved decisive in Norway’s 1-0 win over Northern Ireland.

Bournemouth’s Josh King missed the fixture with a hamstring problem picked up in Norway’s 8-0 drubbing of San Marino on Thursday, but Brunt, Gareth McAuley, Jonny Evans and Steven Davis all played the full match for the visitors.

Andrew Robertson, Darren Fletcher and Matty Phillips started and finished Scotland’s 2-2 draw in Slovenia, while Crystal Palace’s James McArthur played 79 minutes.