Men's International Review

A NUMBER of Rangers players have been involved in international duty for their country this week as UEFA Nations League, qualification for the African Cup of Nations and Under-21 European Championship qualification continued.

Here is a look at who was involved, and how they got on..

John Souttar – Scotland

Croatia 2-1 Scotland – Saturday, October 12 – UEFA Nations League

Scotland 0-0 Portugal – Tuesday, October 15 – UEFA Nations League

John impressed at international level with two 90 minutes for Scotland, including a man of the match display in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Portugal.

Steve Clarke’s side started the international camp with a narrow defeat away to Croatia on Saturday evening, however they managed to pick-up a hard-earned point with a solid performance on Tuesday evening at Hampden.

Souttar was at the heart of the defence as Scotland shut-out Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates to pick up their first point of the UEFA Nations League campaign.

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John Souttar Scotland Portugal

Vaclav Cerny – Czech Republic

Czech Republic 2-0 Albania – Friday, October 11 – UEFA Nations League

Ukraine 1-1 Czech Republic – Monday, October 14 – UEFA Nations League

Vaclav was involved for the Czech Republic this international break as a win over Albania and a draw with Ukraine saw them move to the top of their UEFA Nations League group.

The winger played 69 minutes of Friday’s 2-0 victory, where he came up against Rangers teammate Nadim Bajrami. On Monday, the Czech Republic were held to a draw away to Ukraine, with Cerny playing another 58 minutes for his country.

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Nedim Bajrami – Albania

Czech Republic 2-0 Albania – Friday, October 11 – UEFA Nations League

Georgia 0-1 Albania – Monday, October 14 – UEFA Nations League

Nedim was once again called-up to represent his country as they continued their UEFA Nations League campaign with a win and a defeat.

He played 88 minutes in Friday’s 2-0 loss to the Czech Republic where he faced Vaclav Cerny. The midfielder retained his place in the starting line-up, and was involved in the goal, as Albania defeated Georgia 1-0 on Monday.

Bajrami showed strength to advance down the left, before cutting the ball back into the box, with Kristjan Asllani producing the finish.

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Ianis Hagi – Romania

Cyprus 0-3 Romania – Saturday, October 12 – UEFA Nations League

Lithuania 1-2 Romania – Tuesday, October 15 – UEFA Nations League

It was a positive international break for Ianis Hagi and Romania as they moved clear at the top of Group C2 with two victories in the UEFA Nations League.

The Rangers man played his part from the bench in both matches, playing 20 minutes of the 3-0 victory away to Cyprus, before being introduced in the final minutes of the 2-1 victory over Lithuania.

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Mohamed Diomande – Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast 4-1 Sierra Leone – Friday, October 11 – African Cup of Nations Qualifying

Sierra Leone 1-0 Ivory Coast – Monday, October 14 - African Cup of Nations Qualifying

Ivory Coast continued their impressive start to qualifying with a double-header against Sierra Leone. They started with a 4-1 victory at home on Friday but were defeated 1-0 on Monday in the away match.

Diomande, who has been in good form for Rangers, was an unused substitute in the first match, but came off the bench to play 45 minutes on Monday evening.

Connor Barron, Leon King, Lewis Budinauckas and Robbie Fraser – Scotland Under-21s

Scotland Under-21s 0-2 Belgium Under-21s – Friday, October 11 – UEFA Under-21 European Championships Qualifying

Kazakhstan Under-21s 3-2 Scotland Under-21s – Tuesday, October 15 – UEFA Under-21 European Championships Qualifying – Kick-off 5pm

Scotland Under-21s saw their qualification hopes ended as they were defeated by Belgium and Kazakhstan this international break.

Connor Barron and Lewis Budinauckas both played 90 minutes in Friday’s 2-0 defeat to Belgium’s Under-21’s at Tynecastle, before Barron received a call-up to Steve Clarke’s A-squad for the remainder of the camp.

On Tuesday evening, Budinauckas was again involved as Scotland were defeated 3-2 by Kazakhstan.

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Neraysho Kasanwirjo – Netherlands Under-21s

Netherlands Under-21s 1-0 Mexico Under-23s – Thursday, October 10 – International Friendly

Netherlands Under-21s 3-0 Sweden Under-21s – Monday, October 14 - UEFA Under-21 European Championships Qualifying

Kasanwirjo had a big impact this international break, as he provided two assists in the Netherlands 3-0 victory over Sweden as they became the only team to complete the qualifying campaign with a perfect record.

The defender came off the bench in Thursday’s friendly over Mexico and earned himself a place from the start in the final match of the qualifying campaign.


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