International roundup: Saka and Xhaka  showed they were stars

International roundup: Saka and Xhaka  showed they were stars

Bukayo Saka put in a stellar performance for England as he registered a goal and an assist to help the Three Lions beat Ukraine 2-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying at Wembley.
Our striker, who had done his part four days earlier to help his side beat Italy, proved once again that he could make a difference to his country by helping them beat Oleksandr Zinchenko’s side, and was named Man of the Match in the process.

Bukayo’s first ingenious feat came in the 37th minute when he fought his way down the right flank and put in a fine cross to put the ball on a backboard which Harry Kane put away, turning away just three minutes later. he balled and curled an unstoppable left footed shot into the top corner.
Both Bukayo and Oleksandr played the full 90 minutes finishing their international duties during this spell, while elsewhere in the group Jorginho was an unused substitute in Italy’s 2-0 win against Malta.

Xhaka shines for the Swiss

Granit Xhaka’s Switzerland started qualifying well, beating Belarus 5-0 in a match played behind closed doors in Serbia. The Swiss led 3-0 at half-time thanks to a hat-trick from Renato Steffen, and after the break Granit scored his 13th international goal by seizing the ball from 25 yards, taking a throw-in and firing the ball into the bottom. corner.

Two minutes later skipper Zeki Amdouni’s fine long pass helped wrap up the goal before he was substituted soon after with a firmer result in the bag.
Switzerland now return home for their second qualifying game against Israel on Tuesday, where Granit could earn their 113th cap while approaching Heinz Hermann’s national team record of 118.

Mixed bag elsewhere in Europe

Leandro Trossard played just over an hour as Belgium started the season well with a 3-0 win over Sweden in Stockholm thanks to a hat-trick from Romelu Lukaku, while Kieran Tierney’s Scotland equalized with the left sideline against Cyprus at Hampden Park -Play the full game again.

However, it wasn’t such good news for Martin Odegaard and Jakub Kiwior, who suffered defeats in their first qualifiers. Martin captained the Norwegian national team and played the whole game in the 3-0 loss to Spain in Malaga, while Jakub also played every minute as Poland lost 3-1 to Republic Czech in Prague, the hosts in the first game two goals. scored three minutes of damage.

Turner Strikes Gold

Matt Turner once again took his place between the posts as the USA beat Grenada 7-1 away to reach the 2023 Gold Cup final as they seek to retain their title. They host El Salvador on Monday and, with a win or draw, will also aim to reach the Concacaf Nations League final in Las Vegas this summer.

While Matt won his 25th cap for his country, our loanee defender Auston Trusty won his first and also picked up an assist in an impressive 90-minute performance.