Our international break coverage continues with this look back at three matches contested on Sunday that involved a whole host of Premier League players.
We round up the minutes played, goals, assists and injury news concerning these Fantasy assets, with a summary of yesterday’s other fixtures to follow later.
Spain 1-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Kepa Arrizabalaga (£5.5m) – 75 minutes
- Jonny (£4.5m) – 51 minutes
- Cesar Azpilicueta (£6.3m) – 39 minutes
- Alvaro Morata (£8.7m) – 64 minutes
- David de Gea (£5.8m) – 0 minutes
Wolves’ woes at wing-back deepened last night when Jonny was ruled out for between five and six weeks after suffering a knee injury in Spain’s 1-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Marca reported that Jonny left the ground on crutches, with a bulletin from the Spanish national team saying the following:
The international, Jonny Otto, suffered an injury in the right knee.
The pain is localised on the internal side and the picture is compatible with a medial collateral ligament lesion that, although it is still to be defined, could be a grade II-III. MRI will be performed for diagnostic confirmation and other lesions will be ruled out.
An update on Monday confirmed a partial tear to his knee ligament.
With Jonny ruled out of the matches against Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City in Gameweeks 13 and 14, Fantasy managers will perhaps be tempted by Ruben Vinagre (£4.3m) as a cut-price route into the Wolves defence given that the Portugal under-19 star would seem likely to deputise at left wing-back in his team-mate’s absence.
Cesar Azpilicueta came on for Jonny – the versatile Wolves defender having started at right-back – upon his withdrawal and played the final 39 minutes of the match.
Elsewhere, David de Gea was dropped to the bench as Luis Enrique made nine changes to his Spanish side from the team that lost to Croatia on Thursday.
Kepa Arrizabalaga was the beneficiary of de Gea’s rest, playing the first 75 minutes of the friendly win before being substituted to give debutant Pau Lopez a run-out.
Kepa was called into action in the first minute to keep out an Edin Visca shot but was untroubled thereafter as Spain predictably dominated possession.
It was one of those nights to forget for Alvaro Morata, whose glaring, open-goal miss from point-blank range on 58 minutes soon went viral on social media.
Morata also headed wide when unmarked early in the second half and blazed over when running through on goal shortly afterwards, before being booked and subsequently substituted on 64 minutes.
England 2-1 Croatia
- Jordan Pickford (£4.9m) – 90 minutes
- Kyle Walker (£6.5m) – 90 minutes
- Joe Gomez (£5.1m) – 90 minutes
- John Stones (£5.3m) – 90 minutes
- Ben Chilwell (£5.1m) – 90 minutes
- Fabian Delph (£5.3m) – 73 minutes
- Jesse Lingard (£6.7m) – 17 minutes
- Ross Barkley (£6.0m) – 63 minutes
- Dele Alli (£8.9m) – 27 minutes
- Eric Dier (£4.8m) – 90 minutes
- Harry Kane (£12.4m) – 90 minutes
- Marcus Rashford (£6.7m) – 73 minutes
- Raheem Sterling (£11.2m) – 90 minutes
- Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.0m) – 0 minutes
- Lewis Dunk (£4.5m) – 0 minutes
- Michael Keane (£4.9m – 0 minutes
- Luke Shaw (£5.0m) – 0 minutes
- Harry Winks (£5.5m) – 0 minutes
- Alex McCarthy (£4.5m) – 0 minutes
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£5.2m) – 0 minutes
- Callum Wilson (£6.8m) – 0 minutes
- Jordan Henderson (£5.3m) – 0 minutes
- Mateo Kovacic (£5.9m) – 0 minutes
England’s 2-1 win over Croatia sent Gareth Southgate’s side through to the UEFA Nations League semi-finals, with Jesse Lingard and Harry Kane on target for the hosts at Wembley.
It had threatened to be a frustrating night for Kane until the Three Lions’ late comeback, with the Spurs striker profligate in front of goal before his 85th-minute winner.
Kane’s best chance came early in the match when he ballooned over from close range following a John Stones flick-on from a corner but the World Cup Golden Boot-winner also should have scored minutes later when having two bites at the cherry after goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic had rushed out to deny Raheem Sterling.
Lingard’s equaliser came when Kane’s scuffed toe poke fell at the feet of the Manchester United midfielder a yard out.
The Spurs forward was to end his international “drought” – this was his first England goal since the last-16 tie against Colombia in Russia – with five minutes of the match remaining, though, poking home Ben Chilwell‘s teasing free-kick.
Southgate paid tribute to Kane after full-time, highlighting his all-round play as well as his goalscoring exploits:
He is the best goalscorer in the world, frankly. You’re always loathe to take a player off of his ability.
I know people have criticised those decisions over the summer, but he is our penalty taker, our leader and in 98 per cent of the games his hold-up play and everything else he brings as well as his goalscoring is critical.
He played a fantastic pass for Raheem [Sterling] having dropped off and turned in the first half. We have huge belief in him and he is so hungry to lead the team on and lead the team further.
Sterling was bright playing in a familiar role on the right of a front three but, as was the case against Manchester United in Gameweek 12, lacked conviction around the opposition box and was guilty of squandering some promising positions for England in attack.
Marcus Rashford was perhaps the pick of England’s two wide players, offering plenty of direct thrust down the left flank, but the United forward may now be a slight doubt for the match against Crystal Palace on Saturday after limping down the tunnel with 17 minutes remaining.
Lingard, impressive again in an England shirt upon his introduction, may benefit from Rashford’s injury (and others in Jose Mourinho’s squad) in Gameweek 13.
Jordan Henderson missed the game altogether, meanwhile, with Southgate providing this update on the Liverpool midfielder after full-time:
Jordan has been carrying a bit of an injury. He got some game time [against USA], but was not fully happy with it.
In these games you have to be clear in your mind and perfectly happy [with your decision].
Fabian Delph, who we will likely be seeing plenty of at left-back for Manchester City in the coming weeks, shone in Henderson’s absence in the midfield three alongside the less impressive Eric Dier and Ross Barkley.
Barkley had made a bright start to the game in a role and system (4-3-3) that would have been familiar to him, though his impact on the match lessened as time wore on and he was replaced by Dele Alli just after the hour-mark.
While his form remains up and down, his chances of featuring in Gameweek 13 were perhaps increased by the news that Mateo Kovacic had to miss this Nations League encounter with a muscle problem.
Journalist Liam Twomey reported that Kovacic had been positive about the injury, however, and it is not thought to be a serious issue.
Joe Gomez once again put in an impressive performance at centre-half, with Chilwell plus City pair Kyle Walker and John Stones also getting a full 90-minute run-out.
Chilwell and Delph were the only two England outfielders to start both matches over the international break, with the likes of Trent-Alexander Arnold, Lewis Dunk, Michael Keane and Callum Wilson watching this latest victory from the bench.
Northern Ireland 1-2 Austria
- Marko Arnautovic (£7.1m) – 19 minutes
- Jonny Evans (£4.8m) – 90 minutes
- Steven Davis (£4.7m) – 90 minutes
- Craig Cathcart (£4.5m) – 0 minutes
Marko Arnautovic‘s owners would have been pleased to see the West Ham striker restricted to only a substitute’s appearance in Belfast on Sunday, following his 90 minutes against Bosnia and Herzegovina last Thursday.
Arnautovic came off the bench on 71 minutes to set up Valentino Lozaro’s stoppage-time winner in what was a UEFA Nations League dead rubber, with Austria unable to top the group and Northern Ireland already condemned to relegation.
The Hammers’ striker also set up a chance for David Alaba shortly after his introduction, only for the Bayern Munich midfielder to put his effort wide.
The former Stoke City player discussed his fitness and his future after full-time:
I don’t want to talk about that [transfer speculation]. I concentrate on West Ham and we have a big game against Manchester City on Saturday and I am only thinking about this game and the following games.
Whatever is going on with my agent and the clubs is not my business. My business is to perform on the pitch, to put in performances and that is what I want to do.
I will be okay [for Gameweek 13]. Two days in a row was a bit too much but the gaffer asked me to play the last 25 minutes if needed, and it was needed. I am glad I could help.
Jonny Evans and Steven Davis played the full 90 minutes, as they had done against the Republic of Ireland last Thursday, though Craig Cathcart was an unused substitute on this occasion.
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