We continue our round-up of the fixtures played over the November international break with a look at the matches contested on Thursday evening.
A summary of some of the games played earlier on Thursday, as well as those contested on Wednesday, can be read here.
We’ll be bringing you regular round-ups from across the globe over the coming week, detailing the minutes played and any injuries picked up.
A club-by-club list of the Fantasy Premier League assets on duty with their respective countries is available here.
England 7-0 Montenegro
- Jordan Pickford – 90 minutes
- Trent Alexander-Arnold – 90 minutes
- John Stones – 90 minutes
- Harry Maguire – 90 minutes
- Ben Chilwell – 90 minutes
- Harry Winks – 90 minutes
- Marcus Rashford – 90 minutes
- Harry Kane – 57 minutes
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 56 minutes
- Mason Mount – 70 minutes
- James Maddison – 34 minutes
- Tammy Abraham – 33 minutes
- Joe Gomez – 20 minutes
- Dean Henderson – 0 minutes
- Nick Pope – 0 minutes
- Danny Rose – 0 minutes
- Fikayo Tomori – 0 minutes
- Tyrone Mings – 0 minutes
- Declan Rice – 0 minutes
- Callum Hudson-Odoi – 0 minutes
- Callum Wilson – 0 minutes
- Raheem Sterling – 0 minutes
A Harry Kane (£10.8m) hat-trick illuminated England’s 1,000th international match and secured the side’s qualification for next year’s European Championships for good measure.
The skipper neglected to bring his club form with him to Wembley – he’s scored just once in his last four starts for Spurs – but then again he’s not faced a defence as inept as Montenegro’s was in the first half.
England tore into the visitors from the get-go and were soon ahead when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£6.2m) finished sweetly from Ben Chilwell‘s (£5.7m) ball into the box.
The Leicester City full-back is enjoying the purplest of patches at present, blanking just once in the last six Gameweeks, and he was a constant threat down England’s left flank.
He finished the half with two more assists to his name as England went in 5-0 up. Both were for Kane goals, the striker completing his hat-trick with a clever finish from Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s (£7.2m) lofted pass.
Things calmed down somewhat after the break, mainly due to the presence of a bus parked in front of Montenegro’s goal, but England still found a few ways round, or through, the visitors’ five-man defence.
From one of those opportunities, Mason Mount (£6.8m) saw his mis-hit shot deflected into the net by the unfortunate Aleksandar Sofranac before Tammy Abraham (£8.0m), on for Kane after 57 minutes, converted Jadon Sancho’s low cross for his first ever England goal.
In between those two strikes, England manager Gareth Southgate elected to introduce Joe Gomez (£5.1m) from the subs bench; a metaphorical cry of ‘Who’s the Daddy?’ to the dropped Raheem Sterling (£12.0m) if ever there was one.
A few fans thought it canny to boo the Liverpool defender – victim-shaming at its dimmest – but the media-savvy Sterling, keenly aware that he would be on camera at that precise moment, made sure he was seen to be applauding Gomez from his executive naughty step high up in the Wembley stands.
The Manchester City midfielder’s 35.7% ownership in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) will now be wondering whether Southgate will come good on his hints this week that Sterling will return to the side for Sunday’s final qualifier in Kosovo.
Indeed, much of the Fantasy intrigue from this international break for England will centre on that second match as little could be gleaned about the players against a side as poor as Montenegro were on the night.
Fantasy managers will be left to ponder who might end up playing both matches of the break, with the resultant risk of fatigue and injury that such a workload can create.
The problem for Southgate is that Sunday’s match isn’t quite the dead rubber it should be.
Kosovo’s 2-1 defeat to the Czech Republic means they can no longer qualify automatically for next year’s tournament. But they still have a chance of securing a play-off spot as one of the four best third-placed teams and England might also need a result from the match to ensure a seeded place next summer as one of the top six qualifiers.
As a result, the England manager will probably stick with the core of the side that was so impressive last night.
Captain Kane was always on to get a double dose of duty, with two other members of the team’s spine – goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (£5.5m) and centre-half Harry Maguire (£5.3m) – likely to join him.
The potential extra workload shouldn’t unduly worry the latter pair, while Kane was subbed off earlier enough last night and, quite frankly, could do with the practice as he attempts to find his shooting boots for Tottenham once again.
The 14% of managers who own Marcus Rashford (£8.6m) might be rather more concerned, however.
The Manchester United forward is in fine form domestically, with three goals and an assist from his last four starts, and he was equally potent against Montenegro, scoring from a Maguire rebound and cutting in from the left with pace and purpose for the full 90 minutes of the match.
If he is asked to put in another shift on Sunday, it won’t make his club return away at Sheffield United any easier, although that fixture will take place a whole week later.
At least the heavily-owned Alexander-Arnold (29.4%) and the increasingly popular Chilwell (12.2%) might be spared, with Danny Rose (£5.4m) and Kieran Trippier arguably better fits for what will be a much more demanding match against the Kosovans.
James Maddison (£7.5m) finally got his first England cap when he came on in the second half last night, but he is unlikely to start on Sunday, with the rested Jordan Henderson (£5.4m) a strong probable to return to a midfield that will need a lot more defensive muscle.
Mount, a Southgate favourite, could keep his place, which won’t thrill his 33.1% ownership, but it would be a major surprise if FPL’s most popular player, Abraham (50.5%), has anything more than another second-half run-out.
Portgual 6-0 Lithuania
Bernardo Silva (£7.9m) warmed up for his one-match domestic ban following that Benjamin Mendy (£5.9m) tweet with a goal and an assist as Portugal thrashed Lithuania.
The Manchester City midfielder, who will miss Gameweek 13’s trip to Chelsea, played 66 minutes and is likely to feature heavily again on Sunday as Portugal chase the victory against Luxembourg that will confirm their place in next year’s finals.
Wolves duo Rui Patricio (£5.2m) and Ruben Neves (£5.3m) played the full 90 minutes, while club-mates Joao Moutinho (£5.3m) and Diogo Jota (£6.1m) were handed 18 and seven minutes from the bench respectively.
Leicester City full-back Ricardo Pereira (£6.3m) was another to go the full 90, during which he set up Silva’s goal.
Joao Cancelo (£5.3m) was an unused substitute for the hosts.
France 2-1 Moldova
Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud (£6.6m), unloved by Frank Lampard, returned to the considerably warmer bosom of his French family with the winning penalty against Moldova.
The spot-kick was earned by Everton’s Lucas Digne (£5.9m), who played the entire match, as did Giroud’s club-mate N’Golo Kante (£5.0m).
The rest of the Premier League’s French contingent – Moussa Sissoko (£4.9m), Tanguy Ndombele (£5.9m), the aforementioned Mendy, Matteo Guendouzi (£4.7m) and Kurt Zouma (£4.7m) – were unused subs.
France still need a point from Sunday’s trip to Albania to confirm top spot in their group, so their key players are unlikely to be given a rest.
Euro 2020 Qualifiers Round-up
In the same group as France, Turkey booked their place in next summer’s finals with a 0-0 home draw against Iceland in which Gylfi Sigurdsson (£7.5m) played the full match for the visitors.
Caglar Soyuncu (£4.9m) lasted 90 minutes for the hosts.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic (£6.7m) put in a full shift to help Serbia keep their Group B qualification hopes alive with a 3-2 win against Luxembourg.
Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers Round-Up
Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez (£8.4m) captained Algeria to a 5-0 thrashing of Zambia. He set up the final goal of the game during a 90-minute stint.
Another international skipper, Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.0m), also played the full match as Gabon drew 0-0 against Congo DR.
Arthur Masuaku (£4.5m) also featured in that game.
Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew (£5.1m) started and finished Ghana’s 2-0 win over South Africa, while Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita (£5.8m) was on target for Guinea in their 2-2 draw away to Mali.
Keita played the full match and Southampton’s Moussa Djenepo (£5.2m) had a 20-minute cameo for the hosts.
Republic of Ireland 3-1 New Zealand
Sheffield United’s Callum Robinson (£5.3m) came off the bench to score the final goal in Ireland’s 3-1 friendly win over New Zealand.
The visitors, for whom Burnley striker Chris Wood (£6.2m) played 76 minutes, opened the scoring before Wood’s club-mate Robbie Brady (£5.5m) set up the equaliser.
Brady played the full 90 minutes, as did fellow Burnley player Kevin Long (£4.3m) and Newcastle United’s Ciaran Clark (£4.3m).
Robinson was given a 27-minute run-out and Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane (£5.7m) 24 minutes.
The lesser-spotted Winston Reid (£3.9m) played 45 minutes for the visitors in what was his first taste of competitive football in almost 20 months.
New Zealand have another friendly, against Lithuania, on Sunday, while the Republic face Denmark in a Euro 2020 qualifier the following day.
International Friendlies Round-Up
West Ham’s Andriy Yarmolenko (£6.0m) played 66 minutes as Ukraine beat Estonia 1-0.
Yarmolenko may be in action again on Sunday when his country face Serbia.
Newcastle United’s Miguel Almiron (£5.8m) scored the winner and played 89 minutes for Paraguay in a 1-0 win over Bulgaria.
The 0.4%-owned midfielder is yet to score for his club but could get another chance to do so for his country when they face Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Euro Under-21 Qualifiers Round-up
Manchester City defender Eric Garcia (£4.5m) played the full 90 minutes as Spain under-21s beat North Macedonia under-21s 3-0, while Manchester United winger Tahith Chong (£4.4m) came on for the last 17 minutes as the Netherlands under-21 side beat their Gibraltar counterparts 6-0 away.
Matthew Longstaff (£4.5m) was thrown on as a 72nd-minute substitute for England under-20s in their 4-0 win over Portugal under-20s.
Gabriel Martinelli (£4.5m) made his first Brazil under-23s appearance, playing the first 75 minutes of their 1-0 win over the USA.
Nominated for ‘Best in Fantasy Football – Editorial’ at the Football Content Awards 2020
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