Yup, here we go again. The latest list of assignees - Senior squad Stefan Johansen – Norway (World Cup Qualifier) Jesse Joronen – Finland (World Cup Qualifiers Neeskens Kebano – Democratic Republic of Congo (World Cup Qualifier) Chris Martin – Scotland (World Cup Qualifier) Tomáš Kalas - Czech Republic (World Cup Qualifier) U21s Lasse Vigen Christensen – Denmark (Friendly) U20s Marek Rodák – Slovakia (Friendlies) U18s Dennis Adeniran- England (Friendlies)
Couple of additions: Michael Madl – Austria (World Cup Qualifier & Friendly). And Tayo Edun and Ryan Sessegnon in the England U19 European Qualifiers.
Ryan Sessegnon scored in England U19s win 2-0 against Luxemburg tonight please log in to view this image Tayo Edun also played the whole game. Not entirely sure, but get the impression that Tayo was at full back and Ryan wing half - which is the opposite to how we play them.
And keeping the flag flying, Dennis Adeniran played the entirety of England U18’s 2-0 victory over Poland in Stevenage. please log in to view this image
And elsewhere, good to see Floyd Ayite getting game time. Floyd Ayité scored for Togo on Friday, but they still needed a last gasp strike to draw 2-2 with Comores in Casablanca. The Fulham winger opened the scoring in the 37th minute, but a Ben Mohamed El Fardou double put the islanders on the brink of an unlikely victory, only for substitute Agbeniadan Komlan to spoil the party in the second minute of stoppage time. In World Cup qualifying, Stefan Johansen played the full 90 minutes of Norway’s 2-1 defeat in the Czech Republic. The hosts – for whom Tomas Kalas was an unused substitute – took the lead early on through Michal Krmencik, an advantage they doubled moments after the interval through Jaromir Zmrhal. AFC Bournemouth striker Josh King reduced the deficit late on, but Norway were unable to salvage anything from the game and so slip below their opponents in the Group C standings.
And disappointment as well for our other lads out yesterday: "Ragnar Sigurdsson played the full match in Zagreb for Iceland in a 2-0 loss against Croatia. The victory opened up a lead at the top of European Group I in World Cup qualifying for the hosts. Croatia, forced to play the match in an empty stadium because of cases of spectator unrest, took the lead early when Marcelo Brozovic curled in a shot from outside the box. A dominant performance was rounded off when Brozovic sealed his brace. The loss saw Iceland drop down to third in the group, following a Ukraine victory against Jesse Joronens’ Finland. Joronen was an unused substitute as Artem Kravets struck midway through the first half to see Ukraine climb up to second. Michael Madl was an unused substitute for Austria as Ireland climbed to the top of Group D with an impressive 1-0 victory in Vienna. James McClean struck soon after half-time with a superb finish from a tight angle to surprise an Austrian team that they have failed to beat in nine matches"
And tonight Neeskens Kebano scores for the Congo. please log in to view this image The Democratic Republic of Congo retook top spot in Group A after coming from behind to beat Guinea 2-1 away in their World Cup qualifying match on Sunday thanks to goals from Neeskens Kebano and Yannick Bolasie . The Leopards fell behind in the 23rd-minute when Seydouba Soumah struck from the spot after Botuli Bompunga had handled Alseny Bangoura’s stike. The home side dominated much of the possession during the opening stages of the match, but were unable to extend their advantage, despite troubling Congolese stopper Ley Matampi, and were made to pay midway through the second period. Kebano hit an equaliser in the 54th minute when he capitalised on a misplaced back pass, and Bolasie completed the comeback with a second goal two minutes later. The Everton wideman beat Naby Yattara with a powerful strike after being played in by the impressive Firmin Mubele as the Syli Nationale imploded. The win wasn’t as convincing as the Leopards’ opener, when they thumped Libya 4-0 in Kinshasa to deliver an early statement of intent as Florent Ibenge looks to take the former Zaire back to their first World Cup since 1974. Congo do face considerable competition as they look to reach Russia, however, and are joined at the top of the group by Tunisia, who followed up their opening 2-0 victory over Guinea with a 1-0 triumph over Libya on Friday evening. The DRC are away against Tunisia in their next group game in August 2017, in a fixture that may prove decisive, while Guinea host Libya with both looking to salvage their faint qualification hopes.
The young Lions triumph please log in to view this image Dennis Adeniran played an hour of England U18s' goalless draw with France in Peterborough on Monday evening. France had the better of the play in the friendly fixture, but the Young Lions held out to take the match to penalties, which they ended up losing 5-4. However, Adeniran – who was replaced by Arsenal’s Marcus McGuane in the 60th minute – and his teammates still took home the International Trophy having beaten Poland 2-0 in their previous outing. And Lasse Vigen Christensen was Denmark Under-21s captain as they also drew 0-0. They travelled to Bergamo to face Italy, and they managed to frustrate their hosts to claim an impressive friendly draw.
Ryan Sessegnon came off the bench as England secured their spot in the Elite Round of qualifying for the European U19 Championship - on goal difference. A victory over Greece was needed to confirm top spot in Group 6, and Liverpool’s Trent Arnold got the Young Lions off to the perfect start when he scored from the penalty spot. Sessegnon replaced Andre Green of Aston Villa just before the hour mark, and moments later the lead was doubled by Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah. That was how it stayed, and England’s name will now be in the hat for December’s Elite Round draw. Wales were the team who lost out.
And the others out on duty thankfully came through unscathed, with Floyd Ayite again scoring - Michael Madl made his debut for Austria in their goalless draw with Slovakia in Vienna. The 28-year-old played the entirety of the encounter, in which both sides had chances to win, although a draw was perhaps a fair reflection of how the match unfolded. Tomas Kalas also saw 90 minutes, as the Czech Republic drew 1-1 with Denmark in Mlada Boleslav. Antonin Barak had given the hosts an early lead, but Nicolai Joergensen restored parity before the break, and that was the way it stayed. Ragnar Sigurdsson was given a brief cameo for Iceland, coming on for the final 10 minutes of their 2-0 win over Malta. Goals in either half from Arnor Ingvi Traustason and Sverrir Ingi Ingason earned the European Championship Quarter-Finalists a routine win in Valletta. Floyd Ayité scored his second goal in as many matches, but Togo were still beaten by Morocco in Marrakech. The winger latched onto a long ball over the top in the 10th minute before sending a lovely volley over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net, but a Khalid Boutaib brace earned the hosts a 2-1 win.
