The international break is well and truly underway as we had a full programme of matches on Thursday night.
We’ve gone over every pertinent game from that round of fixtures, a mix of UEFA Nations League encounters and friendlies, to find any Fantasy Premier League talking points.
That includes how many minutes FPL assets registered, any goals, assists and, perhaps most importantly, injuries too.
WALES 4-1 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Wayne Hennessey (£4.5m) – 90 minutes
Ben Davies (£5.8m) – 81 minutes
Ethan Ampadu (£4.4m) – 67 minutes
Aaron Ramsey (£7.4m) – 90 minutes
David Brooks (£5.0m) – 90 minutes
Paul Dummett (£4.5m) – 9 minutes
Seamus Coleman (£5.4m) – 90 minutes
Shane Duffy (£4.5m) – 90 minutes
Ciaran Clark (£4.5m) – 90 minutes
Stephen Ward (£4.9m) – 61 minutes
Cyrus Christie (£4.4m) – 90 minutes
Jeff Hendrick (£5.5m) – 90 minutes
There was another international goal for Aaron Ramsey (£7.4m) in Wales’ big win over the Republic of Ireland on Thursday night. Crucially for the Arsenal midfielder, it was the third match in a row where he completed 90 minutes.
His goal was assisted by promising teenage sensation Ethan Ampadu (£4.4m). The extremely versatile 17-year-old was deployed in central midfield on this particular occasion and emerged as many pundits’ man of the match. The future certainly looks bright for Ampadu. He has long been able to play in defence or midfield since his days with League Two Exeter City, famed for their development of youth players. There have already been calls following his performance on Thursday for him to start for Chelsea in Gameweek 5 as he continues his meteoric rise. He was playing fourth-tier football only 16 months ago.
Elsewhere, there was an assist for Ben Davies (£5.8m) as he played 81 minutes, before being replaced by Paul Dummett (£4.5m).
The only injury to report to you comes from this match. Burnley’s Stephen Ward (£4.9m) went off with a knock for the Republic of Ireland and is now a doubt for the Clarets’ Gameweek 5 trip to Wolves.
Danny Ward (£4.5m) and Sam Vokes (£5.5m) were unused substitutes for Ryan Giggs’ Wales side while Matt Doherty (£4.4m) and Kevin Long (£4.5m) warmed the bench for the Republic of Ireland.
GERMANY 0-0 FRANCE
Antonio Rüdiger (£6.0m) – 90 minutes
Ilkay Gündoğan (£5.5m) – 24 minutes
Leroy Sané (£9.2m) – 7 minutes
Paul Pogba (£8.2m) – 90 minutes
N’Golo Kanté (£5.0m) – 90 minutes
Olivier Giroud (£7.8m) – 66 minutes
The main Fantasy talking point to come out of this high-profile UEFA Nations League meeting was that Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy (£6.4m) was an unused substitute. That is great news for the 36 percent of managers currently invested in the left-back, hoping to still have him in their squads for a Gameweek 5 home meeting with Fulham. However, Mendy may still be involved when France host the Netherlands on Sunday.
Leroy Sané (£9.2m) made his comeback for Germany after missing out on a place in the World Cup squad but was limited to a cameo appearance.
There was 90 minutes for Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rüdiger (£6.0m) as well as Chelsea’s N’Golo Kanté (£5.0m) and Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba (£8.2m). The latter gave some interesting post-match comments when asked about his inconsistent start to the Premier League season.
“It’s not me who’s talking. I’m trying to work on myself physically. I got back late (from the World Cup), so I’m trying to perform as well as possible. I’m just trying to do my job and for the rest, there’ll always be talk.” – Paul Pogba
NORWAY 2-0 CYPRUS
Stefan Johansen (£5.3m) – 72 minutes
Mohamed Elyounoussi (£6.4m) – 90 minutes
Josh King (£6.4m) – 90 minutes
Fulham midfielder Stefan Johansen (£5.3m) may be pushing for a more advanced role after the international break after he scored twice for Norway on Thursday night. Usually used in a central role for the Cottagers he was deployed on the right wing for his nation and was a focal point for his team – 44 percent of Norway’s play going down his side of the pitch. Johansen’s performance could see him considered for a spot in Fulhams’ central midfield with Tom Cairney (£4.9m) out injured, although André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (£4.5m) started there in Gameweek 4.
There was also a crucial first 90 minutes of the season for Mohamed Elyounoussi (£6.4m), who is yet to complete a full league match for new club Southampton. There were encouraging signs too as only compatriot Bjørn Johnsen had more shots on goal than his three against Cyprus.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth’s Josh King (£6.4m) led the line and earned a ‘Fantasy assist’ for Johansen’s second goal. He was fouled for the free-kick that the Fulham man promptly fired into the far corner.
ARMENIA 2-1 LIECHTENSTEIN
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£7.2m) – 90 minutes
There was not much of Fantasy interest to come out of this particular match. The only FPL player involved was Armenia’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£7.2m) who missed a penalty in the 69th minute. However, we never expected him to be in the conversation for Arsenal spot-kicks anyway, so it matters little to us.
CZECH REPUBLIC 1-2 UKRAINE
Andriy Yarmolenko (£6.9m) – 66 minutes
Oleksandr Zinchenko (£4.9m) – 24 minutes
Manchester City’s Aleksandr Zinchenko (£4.9m) was the hero for Ukraine as he scored an injury-time winner over the Czech Republic. He came on for Andriy Yarmolenko (£6.9m) in wide midfield for the last 24 minutes.
West Ham’s new signing Yarmolenko made his second start of 2018/19 in this particular match but is still yet to complete 90 minutes for club or country since arriving in England.
AUSTRIA 2-0 SWEDEN
Sebastian Prödl (£4.4m) – 45 minutes
Marko Arnautovic (£7.0m) – 65 minutes
Ken Sema (£4.9m) – 67 minutes
Marko Arnautovic (£7.0m) got himself an assist for Austria on Thursday night, setting up David Alaba’s goal. The West Ham forward played 65 minutes of this friendly and is likely to start for his country when they face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof (£4.9m) was an unused substitute for Sweden.
NETHERLANDS 2-1 PERU
Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m) – 90 minutes
Georginio Wijnaldum (£5.5m) – 45 minutes
Davy Pröpper (£4.9m) – 45 minutes
Daryl Janmaat (£5.0m) – 18 minutes
The fact that this match seems to have hit the news mainly for Wesley Sneijder’s Gogglebox-inspired send off tells you all you need to know really.
Memphis Depay got both goals for the Netherlands with nothing much to report from a Fantasy perspective.
Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m) was the only Premier League player to complete 90 minutes with team-mate Georginio Wijnaldum (£5.5m) replaced at half-time.
Davy Pröpper (£4.9m) and Daryl Janmaat (£5.0m) both featured as second-half substitutes while Bournemouth’s Nathan Aké (£5.0m) remained on the bench all night.
PORTUGAL 1-1 CROATIA
Rui Patricio (£4.5m) – 90 minutes
Rúben Neves (£5.2m) – 86 minutes
Bernardo Silva (£7.6m) – 45 minutes
Mateo Kovacic (£6.0m) – 90 minutes
Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva (£7.6m) played 45 minutes for Portugal on Thursday but should be used more extensively when they face Italy in a competitive fixture on Monday night. Rúben Neves’ (£5.2m) prolonged involvement against Croatia, his sixth cap, suggests he may not feature too heavily against the Azzurri.
Not surprisingly, Rui Patricio (£4.5m) kept his place in between the sticks for Portugal and should do so again on Monday. Cédric Soares (£4.4m) was an unused substitute while Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic (£6.0m) played the full 90 minutes for Croatia.
OTHER BUSINESS
While Fantasy managers often bemoan the international break, there is one boss who is rather enjoying it. That’s Burnley’s Sean Dyche, who explained this week that it is good for clubs like his with injuries – although we think he gave these quotes before learning of Ward’s knock against Wales…
“I think it’s come at a good time for Robbie (Brady), and for Johann (Berg Gudmundsson), not for their countries, for the international scene, but for us. It gives Robbie another couple of weeks in which there’s no game, in which he could be considered for, and Johann to get over his injury. There are a couple of other niggly ones as well, that have sort of been drifting along. Steven (Defour) has another couple of weeks without a game as well – when you haven’t got these games coming up, which gives you that window obviously, to not miss any games. It’s another couple of weeks with his rehab you almost get for free if you like. Robbie will play with the Under 23s, he’s already played two 45 minutes – the good thing is he doesn’t go back to square one. His fitness is good. He’s only had a couple of niggly injuries, it’s not like he’s missed weeks and weeks. He missed a few days, trained, missed a few days, so his general fitness is good, it’s just that ground-in match fitness and sharpness, which is what he’ll be looking for.” – Sean Dyche
And finally, while many Fantasy assets spend the next week or so training and playing for their countries, one high-profile option has been doing the opposite. Ahead of a favourable Gameweek 5 home match against Fulham, Sergio Aguero (£11.3m) has been pictured enjoying a relaxing beach holiday in Greece. He should be refreshed and ready to be considered for the next FPL captaincy debate…
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