Royals on duty: World Cup prep and Nations League action

See how our internationals got on below...

With the final international break ahead of the FIFA World Cup now over, we take a look at how our internationals got on over the course of the window.

With the tournament now less than two months away it was a final chance for players to impress ahead of the naming of the final 26-man squads at the start of November.

Elsewhere nations that won’t be in Qatar were competing for points in the UEFA Nations League whilst players competing at younger age levels were in action in both Euro qualifiers and friendlies.

Canada

Junior Hoilett captained the Maple Leafs to a 2-0 victory over Qatar, with goals from Cyle Larin and Jonathan David securing the win against the upcoming hosts.

The winger was then introduced at the break of their second match, where they lost 2-0 to Uruguay, to take him up to one cap short of the half century, a milestone he will hope to reach in their opening FIFA World Cup match against Belgium on 23^rd November.

Ghana

Left back Baba Rahman earned his 44^th cap for Otto Addo’s side when they played Brazil on Friday however they went down 3-0 with goals from Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos and a double from Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison.

The Black Stars signed off their preparation for the tournament with a 1-0 win over Nicaragua with Abdul Fatawu Issahaku scoring the only goal of the game in the 35^th minute.

Ghana's next match is against Portugal on 24^th November as they look to improve on their best World Cup performance, when they reached the quarter finals in 2010.

Senegal

Mamadou Loum’s Senegal continued their preparation for the Finals with a 2-0 win over Bolivia in France before they earned a 1-1 draw with England’s opponents Iran in Austria.

Boulaye Dia and a penalty from Sadio Mane won the game for the Lions of Teranga before an own goal from Morteza Pouraliganji gave them the lead against the Asian nation.

Loum, was an unused substitute in both matches, currently has three international caps and will want to secure a seat on the plane for when Aliou Cisse’s side take on the Netherlands in Doha on 21^st November.

Republic of Ireland

Jeff Hendrick was in UEFA Nations League action this week as he helped the Boys in Green to a 3-2 win over Armenia in his 75^th cap.

Following on from their 2-1 defeat to Scotland on Saturday, Stephen Kenny’s side needed to avoid defeat in their final match to avoid relegation to the UEFA Nations League C League.

Defender John Egan followed up his goal against the Scots to give the Irish the lead before Michael Obafemi doubled the Irish advantage.

The visitors looked to have secured a point with a quick fire double from Artak Dashyan and Eduard Spertsyan before late drama unfolded at the Aviva Stadium.

In the 90^th minute, following the intervention of VAR, the referee awarded a penalty and sent off duo Hovhannes Hambardzumyan and Artak Dashyan, as Robbie Brady earned the points from the spot.

Youth internationals

Mamadi Camara featured for Guinea Bissau in two matches with Niger. After a 0-0 draw in the first match, Camara got his name on the score sheet twice, however the Djurtus went down 4-2.

Midfielder Michael Craig made his Scotland U21 debut on Thursday, playing the full 90 as they beat Northern Ireland 3-1 in a friendly, with Kieran Bowie, Ben Doak and Josh Mulligan on the scoresheet.

On Saturday, John Clarke’s Republic of Ireland U19 team got the better of Ben Purcell’s Wales as they ran out 2-0 winners in U19 Euro qualifiers.

Following on from their 6-0 win over Gibraltar, Clarke made his bow in the weekend’s fixture whilst Purcell was named on the bench for a second time after their 0-0 draw with Hungary, before being introduced in the 74^th minute.

Late goals from Justin Ferizaj and Franco Umeh earned the young Boys in Green the points before Clarke continued his winning run as they beat Hungary 1-0 on Tuesday evening to top the group to qualify for the Elite phase as a seeded team.

Purcell’s Dragons also ended the group on a high, with the midfielder starting their 9-2 win over Gibraltar.

Finally, Basil Tuma’s Malta U19 side fell to three defeats, 6-0 to the USA, 3-1 to Scotland and 2-1 to Croatia in the 2022 Nations Cup as they prepare to host the U19 Euros in the summer.