The U21 team of the World Cup winners France struck twice early on against Liechtenstein with the score 2-0 after just five minutes. With Moussa Diaby, who played the full 90 minutes, ‘Les Espoirs’ ended up with a convincing 5-0 win in Vaduz. France have now qualified for next year's U21 European Championship finals. Congratulations Moussa!
U21: Grill in the starting line-up
For the fifth time in succession, the Werkself keeper Lennart Grill was in goal for the Germany U21s on Thursday night. After four Euro qualifiers in September and October, there was a friendly against Slovenia in Braunschweig. Germany coach Stephan Kuntz shuffled his pack at half-time with Grill and six other players not returning for the second half.
Germany took the lead through Hamburg player Manuel Wintzheimer from the penalty spot just before half-time but Slovenia's Zan Medved levelled shortly after the restart – also with a penalty (47'). The visitors missed a penalty just near the end of the game (88') with the result that the match ended in a 1-1 draw. The Germany U21s are back in action on Tuesday 17 November (kick-off: 18.15 CET) in the final World Cup qualifier against Wales. The Kuntz team are currently top of Group 9 with qualification in their own hands.
Tapsoba goes full distance in 3-1 win
A successful home game for Edmond Tapsoba: The 21-year-old Leverkusen player was in the Burkina Faso side against Malawi in his birth town of Ouagadougou and he was on the pitch for the full 90 minutes in the Africa Cup qualifier. The hosts were 2-0 up at half-time with a brace from Lassina Traore (Ajax) and the match ended in a 3-1 victory. The West Africans are certain of being top of the table after this round of matches.
Palacios suffers serious injury
Werkself player Exequiel Palacios was also in action overnight from Thursday to Friday: The midfielder was in the Argentina line-up for the World Cup qualifier against Paraguay. The Leverkusen player started alongside world star Leon Messi in the 1-1 draw – but he had to be substituted due to injury on the half-hour mark. Get well soon, Pala!
Centre forward Lucas Alario came off the bench on 83 minutes but, after three Bundesliga braces in succession, he failed to find the back of the net on the night.
The players in forthcoming internationals:
Jonathan Tah and Nadiem Amiri (both Germany):
Saturday, 14 November (20.45 CET/live on ZDF): Germany v Ukraine (UEFA Nations League)
Tuesday, 17 November (20.45 CET/live on ARD): Spain v Germany (UEFA Nations League)
Lennart Grill and Florian Wirtz (both Germany U21):
Tuesday, 17 November (18.15 CET): Germany U21 v Wales U21 (U21 Euro qualifier)
Aleksandar Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger (both Austria):
Sunday, 15 November (20.45 CET/live on DAZN): Austria v Northern Ireland (UEFA Nations League)
Wednesday, 18 November (20.45 CET/live on DAZN): Austria v Norway (UEFA Nations League)
Lukas Hradecky (Finland):
Sunday, 15 November (18 CET/live on DAZN): Bulgaria v Finland (UEFA Nations League)
Wednesday, 18 November (20.45 CET/live on DAZN): Wales v Finland (UEFA Nations League)
Moussa Diaby (France U21):
Monday, 16 November (21.00 CET): France U21 v Switzerland U21 (U21 Euro qualifier)
Lucas Alario (Argentina):
Wednesday, 18 November (01.30 CET): Peru v Argentina (World Cup qualifier)
Leon Bailey (Jamaica):
Saturday, 14 November (18.00 CET): Saudi Arabia v Jamaica (Friendly)
Tuesday, 17 November (18.00 CET): Saudi Arabia v Jamaica (Friendly)
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso):
Monday, 16 November (15.00 CET): Malawi v Burkina Faso (Africa Cup qualifiers)
