It was a busy Thursday night for six of Newcastle United players as Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon, Lewis Hall, Bruno Guimaraes, Odysseas Vlachodimos and Miguel Almiron were all in international action.
Tonali grabbed his maiden goal for the Italian National Team, and his first since his return from suspension, as the Azzurri beat Belgium 1-0 in Thursday night’s Nations League game.
Some excellent link up play between stars Nicolo Barella and Giovanni Di Lorenzo saw the ball find Tonali’s feet from close range, and the midfielder prodded home to end his 15 month goal drought for club and country.
The goal is just the latest example of Tonali cementing himself in Luciano Spalletti’s side, having been almost instantly brought back into the National Team and taking no time to impress after starring roles against the likes of France and Israel in recent games.
The 24-year-old wasn’t the only Magpie in action last night, as England’s 3-0 away win over Greece not only put them in pole position to qualify from their Nations League group, but allowed our two Mags to shine on the big stage.
After shaking off a hip issue, Anthony Gordon played 66 minutes on the left and looked lively for Lee Carsley’s side, whilst Lewis Hall made his England debut, coming on for Ezri Konsa at half time and managing to see out the clean sheet for the Three Lions in an assured display.
Hall barely put a foot wrong, was aggressive when he needed to be and even started the move leading to England’s second, where forgotten Mag Odysseas Vlachodimos put into his own net after Jude Bellingham’s shot struck the post before rebounding in off the Greek goalkeeper.
After a big night for Hall, here’s hoping that Tino Livramento is also given a chance to impress when England host the Republic of Ireland in the final group stage game next week.
Across the Atlantic, our captain Bruno Guimaraes once again anchored the Brazilian midfield as he played 82 minutes of the Selecao’s 1-1 draw away to Venezuela, leaving them 3rd in the South American World Cup qualifying table. A frustrating result for Brazil but they remain in a strong position despite missing the chance to leapfrog Colombia in 2nd.
Miguel Almiron started Paraguay’s World Cup qualifier at home to Argentina late last night and it was a night to remember, with Miggy playing the full 90 as his country beat Lionel Messi’s table-topping side 2-1 in a major boost to their qualification hopes.
