Tariqe Fosu made his debut for Ghana last Friday during their 3-0 friendly defeat to Mali before netting his maiden international goal on Monday as the Black Stars thumped Qatar 5-1 in Antalya. The 24-year-old started both games, the first at right-back and the second on the left-wing, sliding home the opener at the Mardan Sports Complex as Ghana recorded victory over the 2022 World Cup hosts.
Another player to make their senior international bow was Mathias Jensen. The midfielder played the full 90 minutes last Wednesday as Denmark beat Faroe Islands 4-0 in a friendly, Henrik Dalsgaard earned his 26th international cap during the same game. The pair were then unused substitutes for The Danes' 3-0 Nations League A2 win over Iceland on Sunday before Mathias won his second cap at Wembley on Wednesday night. The 24-year-old came off the bench late on as Kasper Hjulmand's side moved up to second in their group with the 1-0 win over England.
Also in Nations League action was Pontus Jansson with Sweden. The Bees skipper sat out The Swedes friendly victory over Russia last Thursday but started both their League A3 defeats. The first was a 2-1 reverse at the hands of 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia before Wednesday’s action saw them beaten 3-0 by reigning European Champions Portugal. The 29-year-old now has 27 caps for his nation, who sit bottom of League A3 after four straight defeats.
Saïd Benrahma earned his fourth and fifth caps for Algeria as Les Fennecs won one and drew one of their two friendlies this week. The winger played the full 90 minutes of their 1-0 victory over Nigeria on Friday before appearing late on during their 2-2 draw against Mexico on Tuesday night.
Covid-19 affected the action for Saman Ghoddos and Julian Jeanvier with both seeing one of their two scheduled games fall victim to positive tests. In the action that they did manage last weekend, Saman won his 22nd cap off the bench during Iran’s 2-1 win over Uzbekistan while Julian watched on as Guinea came from behind to beat Cape Verde 2-1.
At Under-21 level, Josh Dasilva and Mads Bech Sorensen both helped their nations qualify for next summer’s European Championships in Hungary and Slovenia.
On his full debut against Andorra last Wednesday, Josh scored one and set up another as England’s Young Lions were held to a 3-3 draw at the Estadi Nacional.
The 21-year-old kept his place for Tuesday’s game at Molineux as Aidy Boothroyd’s side beat Halil Dervişoğlu and Turkey 2-1 to ensure qualification; Halil getting Turkey’s late consolation for his fourth goal in nine Under-21 outings. Ellery Balcombe was initially called-up to the Young Lions’ camp but was released to return to Jersey Road ahead of the Andorra game.
An unused substitute for the win over Malta on Friday, Mads Bech returned to the Danish XI on Tuesday as they got the better of a Finland side that included Marcus Forss and Jaakko Oksanen to secure their qualification. Marcus was on target from the penalty spot in the game, his second Under-21 goal in five outings, but Victor Jensen’s double gave The Danes the points they needed in Aalborg. The cap was Mads’ fifth at this level while Jaakko was making his 11th appearance for the Little Eagle-Owls.
Patrik Gunnarsson and Iceland had their crunch qualifier against Italy on Friday postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak among the Italian squad before beating minnows Luxembourg 2-0 on Tuesday. Patrik was an unused substitute for that game at the Stade Émile Mayrisch to keep him on eight Under-21 caps. With three games to play, just a point separates the four sides in Group A chasing the two qualifying spots. Iceland’s fate is very much in their own hands with games against The Azzurri and second-placed Ireland still to come.
Joe Adams made his debut for Wales Under-21 as a second-half substitute during Friday’s 5-0 defeat to Belgium. The Brentford B winger played the final 35 minutes in Leuven as bottom-of-the-table Wales saw their slim qualifying hopes ended. Joe then rejoined the Under-20 squad for a game against Paris Maghoma and England on Tuesday. It was Paris, earning his first England Under-20 cap, who came out on top at St George’s Park with the Young Lions winning 2-0.