International round-up: Finland on course – Albiceleste winners too

Germany's friendly in front of a full house at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg saw the visitors from Japan take the lead. Leroy Sané quickly levelled but Japan regained the lead with the scoreline reading 2-1 at half-time. Germany were unable to score a second goal and Japan increased their lead to 4-1 in the closing stages. Florian Wirtz played 73 minutes and set up the German goal, Jonathan Tah and Jonas Hofmann did not come off the bench.

Switzerland secured a point in the Euro qualifier away to Kosovo conceding in added time for the final score of 2-2. Granit Xhaka as captain played the full 90 minutes and, along with his fellow countrymen, remains top of Group I after matchday five.

Hradecky and Finland win again

Finland with goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky made a successful start to the international break. The 33-year-old again led out the Eagle Owls as captain, kept a clean sheet and celebrated a 1-0 win in Kazakhstan. The fourth victory in the fifth game sees Finland stay top of Group H in the Euro qualifiers.

Czechia with Adam Hlozek drew 1-1 with Albania in the European Championship qualifiers thus preventing their opponents taking their spot at the top of Group E. Hlozek came on after 71 minutes. Croatia picked up three more points in the race to qualify for the Euros. Last year's third-placed team in the World Cup beat Latvia 5-0 at home and they are second in Group D. Bayer 04 player Josip Stanisic did not play.

World cup qualifiers: Argentina off to winning start

Argentina began the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup with a victory. The Albiceleste beat Ecuador 1-0 at home. Werkself player Exequiel Palacios came on late in the game to replace Lionel Messi, scorer of the winning goal.

Arthur was in action with the Brazil U23 team. The Bayer 04 new signing played from the start with the Selecao junior team and he was substituted on 76 minutes in a 1-0 defeat against Morocco.

top spot for Kossounou and Tapsoba

Odilon Kossounou played the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 win for the Ivory Coast against Lesotho on matchday six in the Africa Cup of Nations. The Ivorians are top of Group H with 13 points. Burkina Faso with Edmond Tapsoba in the squad only managed to secure a goalless draw against Eswatini. The Leverkusen player did not feature in the game. In spite of the draw, Burkina Faso lead Group B with eleven points – having played a game more than second-placed Cap Verde.

Morocco's qualifier against Liberia, with Werkself player Amine Adli in the squad, was postponed due to the earthquake in Morocco.

Remaining international fixtures: