International round-up: week one

I hate international football.

But as there’s a few of our Lilywhites out there playing some football, why not check in with them at least?

Let’s start with James Maddison. He started in midfield for England alongside Jordan “Boo-urns” Henderson, and played 73 relatively uneventful minutes in a 1-0 friendly win against Australia. He’ll be up in the next few days against Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie for Italy; Destiny made his senior debut for the Azzurri, coming on as a substitute in the 79th minute and collecting an assist for his troubles as Italy ran out 4-0 winners over Malta in a relatively low-stakes Euro qualifier. Gianluigi Donnarumma was preferred in goal for Italy, so Vicario did not see the pitch.

The Welsh, however, have already managed to squeeze two matches into the window, with Ben Davies playing 45 minutes in a 4-0 friendly win over Gibraltar, wearing the captain’s armband and collecting a goal for his troubles along the way. He also added insult to injury (literally) for club teammate Ivan Perisic, as Wales secured somewhat of a shock 2-1 win in Euro qualifying over Perisic’s Croatia. As other teams battled to secure Euro qualification, Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg also saw success, playing 90 minutes as the Danes defeated Kazakhstan (who may produce some great potassium but apparently leave a bit to be desired in the football department). It was less than good news, however, for Mickey Van de Ven, who only saw the pitch late in a 2-1 loss to France.

In friendly appearances, Dejan Kulusevski was rested for Sweden’s 3-1 win over Moldova, while further to the south, it appeared to be the same situation for Yves Bissouma. His Mali side defeated Uganda 1-0, and from what I can find online and via very fuzzy Youtube highlights, it seems the Spurs #8 was not in the squad. Elsewhere in Africa, Pape Matar Sarr got himself a start, as Senegal went down to Algeria 0-1. One player Tottenham fans would have been glad to see NOT start was Heung-Min Son: over in Seoul, it seems Jurgen Klinsmann was just having some fun raising the blood pressure of Spurs fans with his comments on Sonny the prior weekend, as the Spurs and South Korea captain was rested for his nation’s friendly 4-0 win over Tunisia.

Meanwhile in South America, CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers were already underway. Cristian Romero played the full 90 as Argentina beat Paraguay 1-0, with Giovani Lo Celso taking the role of human victory cigar, coming on in the last minute of added time to seal the win. The news wasn’t as good for Richarlison though, as he had a tough (and somewhat familiar) outing for Brazil. He worked hard, got himself a yellow card, and was unable to fashion any chances as he was pulled after 59 minutes. That was clearly an error on Brazil’s part, as they conceded a late goal to draw with Venezuela 1-1.

The really positive news that you all really care about? No new Tottenham injuries!

Yet.

I hate international football.

Spurs International Appearances:

• James Maddison (73 minutes): England 1-0 Australia, friendly
• Heung-Min Son (unused substitute): South Korea 4-0 Tunisia, friendly
• Giovani Lo Celso (1 minute, sub) & Cristian Romero (90 minutes): Argentina 1-0 Paraguay, World Cup Qualification CONMEBOL
• Richarlison (59 minutes): Brazil 1-1 Venezuela, World Cup Qualification CONMEBOL
• Pape Matar Sarr (starter, minutes unknown): Senegal 0-1 Algeria, friendly
• Yves Bissouma (not in squad): Mali 1-0 Uganda, friendly
• Guglielmo Vicario (unused substitute) & Destiny Udogie (11 minutes, sub, 1 assist): Italy 4-0 Malta, Euro Qualification
• Ben Davies (45 minutes, goal; 90 minutes): Wales 4-0 Gibraltar, friendly; Wales 2-1 Croatia, Euro Qualification
• Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (90 minutes): Denmark 3-1 Kazakhstan, Euro Qualification
• Mickey Van de Ven (10 minutes, sub): Netherlands 1-2 France, Euro Qualification
• Dejan Kulusevski (unused substitute): Sweden 3-1 Moldova, friendly