Our final Scout Notes of the international break focuses on the Fantasy assets who were in action for their countries on Tuesday.
As usual we’ll be documenting the minutes played and any injuries picked up by Premier League players, as well as bringing to light any goals or assists they may have registered.
Finland 3-0 Armenia
- Teemu Pukki (£7.1m) – 90 minutes
Teemu Pukki’s (£7.1m) four-game stretch without a goal ended on Tuesday night, as the Norwich City striker scored a brace in Finland’s Euro 2020 qualification win over Armenia.
Pukki is the most-sold player of Gameweek 9 by some distance, despite the Canaries facing a Bournemouth side without a clean sheet so far this season.
Norwich’s woeful away form, of course, slightly counteracts that.
Pukki had four bites at the cherry before ending his goal drought, producing two excellent dinked finishes when racing onto through-balls from deep.
While this is ‘only Armenia’, the assured nature of Pukki’s finishes will perhaps boost his confidence and give his remaining owners some hope that the three-game run of FPL blanks may come to an end on the south coast this weekend.
Algeria 3-0 Colombia
- Riyad Mahrez (£8.7m) – 85 minutes
- Davinson Sanchez (£5.4m) – 90 minutes
- Jefferson Lerma (£4.8m) – 90 minutes
- Yerry Mina (£5.4m) – 0 minutes
Riyad Mahrez (£8.7m) produced an eye-catching display as Algeria saw off Colombia in a friendly in Lille.
The Manchester City winger was only a second-half substitute in Thursday’s draw with DR Congo but he started this latest match and played the first 85 minutes, having contributed to all three of his country’s goals.
Lining up in his usual right-wing role, Mahrez assisted Baghdad Bounedjah’s superb opening strike for Algeria.
All three of Algeria’s goals came from outside the box, with the premium FPL midfielder grabbing the other two.
Mahrez wrong-footed David Ospina with his first effort from the edge of the area, while his second was arguably the goal of the game: the former Leicester wide-man cutting in off the right flank and curling a superb left-footed effort into the bottom corner of Ospina’s goal.
Mahrez suffered a blow to the nose not long after his second strike but played on and was given a standing ovation upon his withdrawal in the dying stages.
Davinson Sanchez (£5.4m) played the full 90 minutes for Colombia but his usual centre-half partner, Yerry Mina (£5.4m), was an unused substitute.
Jefferson Lerma (£4.8m) also lasted the course and unsurprisingly picked up a booking.
View player and team stats from Algeria v Colombia in our Members’ Area.
Morocco 2-3 Gabon
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.1m) – 90 minutes
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.1m) clocked up his second 90-minute run-out over the international break, lasting almost the entire game as Gabon beat Morroco in an international friendly.
Aubameyang was substituted in second-half stoppage time, having not played a part in any of his side’s three goals and having picked up a booking just after the break.
The good news for the Gabon international’s owners is that he has an extra two days to recover from his exertions with the national side, with Arsenal not in action until Monday evening.
Sweden 1-1 Spain
- Victor Lindelof (£5.4m) – 90 minutes
- Emil Krafth (£4.5m) – 0 minutes
- Dani Ceballos (£5.5m) – 90 minutes
- Rodri (£5.5m) – 90 minutes
- David de Gea (£5.6m) – 60 minutes
- Kepa Arrizabalaga (£5.5m) – 30 minutes
Manchester United were dealt an injury blow ahead of their Gameweek 9 meeting with Liverpool.
David de Gea (£5.6m) appeared to tweak his groin while taking a goal-kick in Spain’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Sweden on Tuesday, subsequently hobbling from the field and having to be replaced by Kepa Arrizabalaga (£5.5m) on the hour-mark.
Spain national team boss Robert Moreno claimed that de Gea had actually been struggling earlier in the game, saying:
He had pain in the abductor muscle but he received treatment at half-time and wanted to keep playing. He gave us his word but in the end, he couldn’t continue.
Early reports suggest the injury is not serious but Sergio Romero (£4.8m) will be on standby to deputise for de Gea this Sunday should he be ruled out.
De Gea had earlier made a superb save to keep out Robin Quaison’s header and couldn’t prevent Marcus Berg’s opener despite making an excellent double-stop in the build-up to that strike.
There was better news for United on the injury front, with Victor Lindelof (£5.4m) shaking off the back problem that had forced him to miss out in Gameweek 8 to play the full game against Spain.
Dani Ceballos (£5.5m) and Rodri (£5.5m) lasted the full 90 minutes, with the Manchester City man forcing a fine early stop from Robin Olsen following a corner.
Newcastle’s Emil Krafth (£4.5m) was an unused substitute for the hosts, meanwhile, and hasn’t kicked a ball over the international break.
View player and team stats from Sweden v Spain in our Members’ Area.
North Korea 0-0 South Korea
- Son Heung-min (£9.8m) – 90 minutes
Son Heung-min (£9.8m) played the full match as South Korea drew with North Korea – but little else is known about the contest.
This World Cup 2022 qualifier was played behind closed doors, with no fans or journalists allowed in.
What we do know is that the game finished goalless, with Son unable to add to the brace he scored in last week’s win over Sri Lanka.
Given the flight time back from Asia, Son will likely be one of the last Premier League players to return to their clubs – although he played 90 minutes in Gameweek 5 after a similar schedule in the September international break.
Switzerland 2-0 Republic of Ireland
- Granit Xhaka (£5.3m) – 90 minutes
- Fabian Schar (£5.0m) – 90 minutes
- Josip Drmic (£5.4m) – 0 minutes
- Shane Duffy (£4.9m) – 90 minutes
- John Egan (£4.5m) – 90 minutes
- Enda Stevens (£5.0m) – 90 minutes
- Jeff Hendrick (£5.4m) – 90 minutes
- Seamus Coleman (£5.4m) – 76 minutes
- Aaron Connolly (£4.5m) – 69 minutes
- Conor Hourihane (£5.7m) – 0 minutes
- Callum Robinson (£5.3m) – 0 minutes
- Kevin Long (£4.4m) – 0 minutes
- Matt Doherty (£6.0m) – 0 minutes
- Mark Travers (£4.4m) – 0 minutes
Aaron Connolly (£4.5m) was handed his first Ireland start but had few opportunities to impress as Mick McCarthy’s side failed to create too many clear-cut opportunities in their Euro 2020 qualifying defeat to Switzerland.
Ireland exerted a little more pressure after the interval but a blocked first-half effort was all Connolly had to show for his efforts and the budget FPL forward was withdrawn midway through the second half.
Shane Duffy (£4.9m), John Egan (£4.5m) and Enda Stevens (£5.0m) were part of an Ireland backline that faced a more potent Swiss attack, with Duffy putting through his own net in second-half injury time to seal the hosts’ win.
Seamus Coleman (£5.4m) was also part of the Irish defence but failed to last the whole game, being sent off for a second bookable offence – his second dismissal in three matches for club and country – when conceding a 76th-minute penalty that Ricardo Rodriguez subsequently missed.
Jeff Hendrick (£5.4m) put in a fairly unremarkable 90 minutes for the visitors, with Granit Xhaka (£5.3m) and Fabian Schar (£5.0m) lasting the course for the Swiss.
Schar, who is joint-top for goal attempts among FPL defenders this season, underlined his attacking threat with three efforts on goal, one of which was a header that struck the woodwork.
Josip Drmic (£5.4m), Conor Hourihane (£5.7m), Callum Robinson (£5.3m), Kevin Long (£4.4m), Matt Doherty (£6.0m) and Mark Travers (£4.4m) were all unused substitutes.
View player and team stats from Switzerland v Ireland in our Members’ Area.
Denmark 4-0 Luxembourg
- Kasper Schmeichel (£5.0m) – 90 minutes
- Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (£4.8m) – 90 minutes
- Christian Eriksen (£8.8m) – 45 minutes
- Andreas Christensen (£5.0m) – 0 minutes
- Philip Billing (£5.0m) – 0 minutes
Christian Eriksen (£8.8m) had his minutes managed as Denmark coasted to a 4-0 win over Luxembourg in an international friendly on Tuesday.
The Spurs playmaker was hooked at the break and there have been no reports of an injury so far.
Eriksen, whose own indifferent form for Spurs has carried over to the international stage, created an early big chance for Southampton’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (£4.8m), who lasted the full 90 minutes.
Kasper Schmeichel (£5.0m) was made to work harder for his clean sheet than perhaps expected against the European minnows, saving two presentable opportunities that the visitors carved out (both of which were deemed ‘big chances’ by Opta).
Philip Billing (£5.0m) was an unused substitute, meanwhile.
Andreas Christensen (£5.0m) had pulled out of the squad days earlier after suffering a hamstring strain in Saturday’s win over Switzerland.
The Athletic’s Simon Johnson has reported this morning that Christensen is “unlikely to feature” in Gameweek 9, although this hasn’t been ratified by Chelsea yet.
View player and team stats from Denmark v Luxembourg in our Members’ Area.
Romania 1-1 Norway
- Josh King (£6.3m) – 90 minutes
Josh King (£6.3m) completed his second successive 90-minute run-out for Norway in their Euro 2020 qualifier against Romania.
As happened on Saturday against Spain, Norway waited until stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw – but this time it was Alexander Sorloth, rather than King, who grabbed a late equaliser.
The Bournemouth striker, who is operating on the left flank for his club at present, fired over in the first half and had a late header saved minutes before Sorloth found the net.
Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy
- Jorginho (£5.1m) – 0 minutes
With all of the injuries Chelsea have accumulated over the international break, Frank Lampard would have been pleased to see one of his stand-out players of 2019/20 return to England unscathed.
Jorginho (£5.1m) was an unused substitute as Italy swatted aside Liechtenstein in a Euro 2020 qualifier, with the Azzuri having already qualified for next summer’s tournament.
Jorginho played 90 minutes and scored from the spot in Italy’s win over Greece on Saturday.
England Under-21s 5-1 Austria Under-21s
- Aaron Ramsdale (£4.5m) – 90 minutes
- James Justin (£4.8m) – 90 minutes
- Marc Guehi (£4.0m) – 90 minutes
- Tom Davies (£5.3m) – 90 minutes
- Lloyd Kelly (£4.4m) – 90 minutes
- Phil Foden (£5.2m) – 90 minutes
- Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.9m) – 87 minutes
- Joe Willock (£5.0m) – 74 minutes
- Dwight McNeil (£6.0m) – 61 minutes
- Max Aarons (£4.4m) – 61 minutes
- Rhian Brewster (£4.4m) – 29 minutes
- Oliver Skipp (£4.4m) – 16 minutes
- Kevin Danso (£4.4m) – 90 minutes
The fit-again Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.9m) is a differential to watch in the coming weeks.
Owned by just 1.2% of FPL managers, Hudson-Odoi has recorded attacking returns in both of his Premier League appearances this season and was handed his first start by Frank Lampard in Gameweek 8.
Hudson-Odoi underscored his ability with two superb goals in England under-21s’ comfortable win over their Austrian counterparts, first volleying in a Max Aarons (£4.4m) cross and then running with the ball for almost the full length of the pitch before curling in England’s fourth goal of the night.
Lloyd Kelly (£4.4m) had provided a fine cross-field pass for Aarons in the build-up to Hudson-Odoi’s first goal and recorded an assist himself soon after, nodding down from a corner for Eddie Nketiah to score.
Kelly is Diego Rico‘s (£4.2m) main positional rival at Bournemouth but is capable of playing at centre-half and was indeed employed there by his national team on Tuesday as part of a three-man defence.
Dwight McNeil (£6.0m) operated on the other side to Aarons as a wing-back and crossed for Nketiah to head in his second goal, with the Arsenal forward – on loan at Leeds at present – completing his treble from a Rhian Brewster (£4.4m) cross.
Phil Foden (£5.2m) wasn’t among the goals but impressed again, with his dead-ball deliveries a threat.
Kevin Danso (£4.4m) played the full match for the visitors.
Greece 2-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Sead Kolasinac (£5.4m) – 90 minutes
There was a familiar outcome for Sead Kolasinac (£5.4m) in Tuesday night’s match in Greece: an attacking return but no clean sheet.
Kolasinac supplied the assist for Amer Gojak’s equaliser, crossing low from the left flank for the Bosnian midfielder to convert.
The Arsenal left-back now faces a challenge for his position at club level from Kieran Tierney (£5.4m), who has returned from injury.
Chinese Taipei 1-7 Australia
- Mathew Ryan (£4.6m) – 90 minutes
- Aaron Mooy (£4.8m) – 62 minutes
Brighton’s Australian duo were handed the same minutes as they got in Thursday’s 5-0 win over Nepal, with this latest success as comfortable as last week’s.
The pair now face a long-haul flight back from Asia ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Aston Villa.
Round-Up
Lucas Torreira (£4.8m) was an unused substitute as Uruguay drew with Peru in a friendly in the early hours of Wednesday morning (UK time).
The Arsenal midfielder was the very last FPL asset involved on international duty this week and now faces a long-haul flight back from South America but the Gunners are in action on Monday evening against Sheffield United, giving Torreira an extra two days to recover.
After his 77-minute run-out last Thursday, Arsenal ever-present Matteo Guendouzi (£4.7m) played the whole of France under-21s’ Euro 2021 qualifier against Slovakia on Tuesday.
Caoimhin Kelleher (£4.5m) and Adam Idah (£4.5m) completed the full game for Ireland under-21s in their 1-0 defeat to Iceland, with Michael Obafemi (£4.9m) withdrawn in the 75th minute.
Troy Parrott (£4.5m) was suspended.
Manchester City’s Eric Garcia (£4.5m) and Watford’s Pontus Dahlberg (£4.4m) also played the whole 90 minutes for Spain and Sweden’s under-21 sides respectively.
Claudio Bravo (£4.8m) lasted the full 90 minutes as Chile beat Guinea 3-2 in an international friendly.
Maya Yoshida (£4.4m) also completed the entirety of Japan’s 3-0 win in Tajikistan.
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