Internationals – Son and Richarlison on target

Heung-Min Son netted a cracking free-kick for South Korea while Richarlison bagged a brace for Brazil on a busy day of international action for our players on Friday.

Captaining South Korea as usual in their home friendly against Costa Rica, Son sent an 85th-minute set-piece flying into the top corner to haul his side back level at 2-2, having trailed since just after the hour mark. That’s how it stayed in Goyang, with the forward completing the full match.

Fellow front man Richarlison went one better, scoring twice in the first half of Brazil’s 3-0 friendly win over Ghana in France. With his nation already leading 1-0, he swept into the bottom corner from the edge of the box after being set up by Neymar on 28 minutes before meeting the same player’s free-kick to complete the scoring five minutes before the break. Richy was substituted in the 63rd minute.

Elsewhere, Harry Kane and Eric Dier both completed 90 minutes for England against Italy in the UEFA Nations League, but couldn’t prevent Gareth Southgate’s side from suffering a 1-0 defeat at the San Siro, a result that relegated them from their group. Harry had England’s best chance in the second period but was denied by an excellent double save from Italian stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma, while Eric made some vital interventions at the back, but it was Giacomo Raspadori’s 68th-minute strike that settled the game in favour of the hosts.

In other friendly action, Rodrigo Bentancur played 85 minutes of Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat to Iran in Austria, Yves Bissouma went on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Mali as they won 1-0 at home to Zambia while Bryan Gil played the first half of Spain Under-21s’ 4-1 victory in Romania.

Young defender Alfie Dorrington, meanwhile, helped England Under-18s to a 2-1 victory over Faroe Islands to make it two wins out of two at the Costa Calida Supercup in Pinatar, Spain. Alfie played the full game, having been an unused substitute in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over the Netherlands, in which goalkeeper Luca Gunter and forward Jamie Donley both started, the latter completing 70 minutes.

On-loan striker Dane Scarlett was also on duty for England in the Under-20 version of the same tournament on Wednesday, playing the final 20 minutes of a 3-0 triumph against Chile, while goalkeeper Aaron Maguire came off the bench in the 85th minute for Republic of Ireland Under-19s as they thrashed Gibraltar 6-0 in European Under-19 Championship qualifying in Wales.

Thursday’s action saw Ivan Perisic and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg go head-to-head as Croatia beat Denmark 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League in Zagreb. Ivan completed 71 minutes, while Pierre played the full 90. There was also a 90-minute stint for on-loan defender Joe Rodon for Wales in their 2-1 defeat in Belgium.

In friendlies, Ryan Sessegnon, Oliver Skipp and Djed Spence all started for England Under-21s as they won 2-0 away to Italy, with the trio replaced amid wholesale changes in the 71st minute. New signing Destiny Udogie, currently back at Udinese on loan, played the second half for Italy, while midfielder Matthew Craig was an unused substitute for Scotland Under-21s in their 3-1 victory in Northern Ireland.

Saturday 24 September

Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso – Argentina friendly against Honduras in USA – kick-off 1am
Kallum Cesay – Sierra Leone away friendly against South Africa – kick-off 2pm
Pape Matar Sarr – Senegal friendly against Bolivia in France – kick-off 5.30pm
Matt Doherty and Troy Parrott – Republic of Ireland away UEFA Nations League match against Scotland – kick-off 7.45pm
Dejan Kulusevski – Sweden away UEFA Nations League match against Serbia – kick-off 7.45pm
Dane Scarlett – England Under-20s tournament match against Morocco in Spain – kick-off 5pm
Aaron Maguire – Republic of Ireland Under-19s European Under-19 Championship qualifier against Wales in Wales – kick-off 1pm

Sunday 25 September

Davinson Sanchez – Colombia friendly against Guatemala in USA – kick-off 12.30am
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – Denmark home UEFA Nations League match against France – 7.45pm
Ivan Perisic – Croatia away UEFA Nations League match against Austria – 7.45pm
Joe Rodon – Wales home UEFA Nations League match against Poland – kick-off 7.45pm
Matthew Craig – Scotland Under-21s home friendly against Northern Ireland – kick-off 2pm