Tottenham’s international round-up covers Ben Davies’ Wales victory, Omar Marmoush’s Egypt double, Mateus Fernandes’ qualification success and academy goals.
Ben Davies helped Wales secure a memorable victory, Omar Marmoush struck twice for Egypt, and Mateus Fernandes captained Portugal’s Under-21s to qualification for next summer’s European Championship. Meanwhile, several academy prospects have made their mark with important goals of their own.
Davies provided one of the standout moments on Thursday, October 1, captaining Wales to a 2–1 Nations League victory over Norway in Cardiff. Making his 103rd international appearance, the Tottenham defender completed the full match as Craig Bellamy’s side registered their first-ever win in Nations League A.
Dan James cancelled out Oscar Bobb’s opener before Norway defender Torbjorn Heggem was dismissed shortly after half-time. Neco Williams converted the resulting free-kick, and Wales protected their advantage against an attack featuring Erling Haaland.
Micky van de Ven also played the full 90 minutes on Thursday as the Netherlands recovered from a two-goal half-time deficit to draw 2–2 with Greece. Virgil van Dijk began the comeback before Tijani Reijnders equalised in the 89th minute.
Earlier in the week, Marmoush enjoyed a productive afternoon in Egypt’s 5–0 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying victory over South Sudan.
The forward scored Egypt’s second and fourth goals on September 29, showing his ability to exploit space behind the defence. His first finish followed a forward pass from Mohanad Lasheen, while his second saw him round the goalkeeper after Emam Ashour released him.
Marmoush was substituted after 87 minutes in his 57th international appearance. The result lifted Egypt to the top of their qualifying group following an opening goalless draw with Angola.
Fernandes, meanwhile, helped Portugal’s Under-21s secure their place at the 2027 European Championship with a 4–0 victory over Gibraltar on September 30.
The midfielder captained the side, completed 90 minutes and supplied the corner for Goncalo Oliveira to head home Portugal’s third goal. He also contributed to the move that produced their fourth, an own goal, as Portugal confirmed qualification with a match remaining.
There was further academy success that evening. Armend Muslika won and converted a stoppage-time penalty to give Albania’s Under-19s a dramatic 3–2 victory over Lithuania. Oscar Sandiford played the full match and Phoenix Off.
Academy standouts Luca Williams-Barnett and Malachi Hardy both started for England Under-19s against USA in Spain at the time of writing.
While the international break hasn’t been overly welcomed by fans, coaches and some players, several players have had an excellent extended break before the Premier League returns on October 10th.
