Kieran Trippier, Jamal Lewis and Martin Dubravka all enjoyed successful nights on the European stage last night.
Although he didn’t start, Trippier played the final 15 minutes of England’s massive 2-1 win over Italy, showing plenty of experience and knowhow at left-back after Luke Shaw’s red card saw us go down to 10 men in Naples.
The Man Utd defender’s ban could now mean our vice-captain may fill in down the left against Ukraine on Sunday – unless Southgate opts for Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell instead.
Lewis arguably had the most successful night of the trio after the full-back recorded an assist and a clean sheet in Northern Ireland’s 2-0 victory over San Marino to kick start their Euro 2024 Qualifying campaign.
This should hopefully give the 25-year-old a bit of confidence to take back to Tyneside, with a summer move likely after he’s started just once all season under Eddie Howe.
As for Dubravka, Slovakia failed to beat Luxembourg in their opening qualifier, but the Toon stopper made a couple of saves and kept a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw.
Next up, we’ll see Garang Kuol’s Australia take on Ecuador om Friday morning, with Alexander Isak likely to feature in Sweden’s Euro clash with Belgium later on tonight.
