Internationals - double delight for Rodon
Wed 18 November 2020, 23:17|
Tottenham Hotspur
Joe Rodon had plenty of reasons to be cheerful after a memorable night for Wales on Wednesday.
The central defender earned his 10th cap as the Dragons beat Finland 3-1 at Cardiff City Stadium to top Group B4 in the UEFA Nations League and clinch promotion to the competition's top flight.
Then the icing on the cake - as skipper Gareth Bale departed just after the hour, he handed the captain's armband to his Spurs team-mate to wear for the first time.
Gareth (87 caps) had earlier set up the opener for Harry Wilson before Daniel James' thunderbolt and a header from Kieffer Moore saw Wales home in the second half. Ben Davies missed out through suspension.
Elsewhere in the UEFA Nations League, Toby Alderweireld won the battle of Spurs against Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as Belgium beat Denmark 4-2 in Den Dreef to top Group A2 and progress to the finals alongside France, Spain and Italy. Both players completed the full 90, Toby earning his 104th cap for Belgium, Pierre number 38 for Denmark.
Staying in Group A2 of the UEFA Nations League, Harry Kane (51 caps), Eric Dier (45) and Harry Winks (10) all featured as England toppled Iceland 4-0 at Wembley to finish third. Harry had a couple of half-chances without reward in a 76-minute stint, Eric was comfortable in his full shift while Winksy came off the bench on 76 minutes and will claim the assist for Phil Foden's second goal. Declan Rice and Mason Mount were also on target.
Young striker Troy Parrott, 18, currently on loan at Millwall, earned his second senior cap for the Republic of Ireland when he came off the bench late in a goalless draw against Bulgaria in Dublin. ROI avoided relegation from Group B4 with the point.
Turning to World Cup qualifiers, Gio Lo Celso played the full 90 and provided the assist for Nicolas Gonzalez to open the scoring for Argentina against Peru. Argentina won 2-0 in Lima and remain unbeaten after four matches in South American qualifying for Qatar 2022.
In Under-21 action, Gedson Fernandes played 56 minutes as Portugal beat Holland 2-1 in the final match of European Championship qualifying. That meant Portugal finished second in Group Seven, level on points with the Dutch, and they both progress to the finals. The group stage of the finals is in March, 2021 with eight teams then going through to the knockout phase from 31 May-6 June, 2021.
