Wolves’ Ladislav Krejci crowned a standout international break by captaining Czechia to a first World Cup in 20 years, edging past Denmark on penalties after extra time. The round-up also brings a senior debut for West Brom’s Ousmane Diakite and mixed fortunes for Aston Villa players.
Krejci struck in extra time after a 1-1 stalemate, Denmark levelled, and Czechia won 3-1 on penalties despite the captain missing. “We weren’t the better side, let’s be honest, but we showed more heart and fought harder,” he told Czech TV.
Jackson Tchatchoua captained Cameroon to a 2-0 friendly win over China. David Moller Wolfe came on for Norway in a 0-0 with Switzerland, then was withdrawn for former Albion defender Torbjorn Heggem. Jose Sa played 85 minutes in Portugal’s 2-0 win over World Cup hosts USA.
Sasa Kalajdzic returned for Austria in a 1-0 victory against South Korea, with Hwang Hee-chan off the bench for the visitors. Under-21 midfielder Mateus Mane also featured as Portugal beat Scotland.
Ousmane Diakite made his senior Mali debut, appearing in the second half of a 0-0 draw with Russia after earning a new club deal. Jayson Molumby played an hour in Republic of Ireland’s 0-0 with North Macedonia.
Matty Cash will miss the World Cup after Poland lost 3-2 to Sweden, whose captain Victor Lindelöf led them through via the Nations League pathway. England’s Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa started a 1-0 home defeat to Japan. Emi Martinez started Argentina’s 5-0 win over Zambia.