Ya Konan on target, while Forssell gets match practice

It was a mixed bag of emotions for Didier Ya Konan as he represented the Ivory Coast in the friendly match against Mali in midweek. Having scored the match-winning goal in the 3^rd minute of the match, the centre forward had his evening cut short by a tough tackle that saw him leave the pitch with what looked a nasty injury. It saw him keep up his string of strong performances as he scored a goal, which could prove crucial for the progress of his international career.

Elsewhere, Mikael Forssell made his 74^th appearance for the Finnish national team on Wednesday, but was unable to find the back of the net during his sides 1-1 draw with Belgium. With several changes being made during the friendly, the strikers evening was brought to an end in the 65^th minute.

Pogatetz plays the full 90

Emanuel Pogatetz certainly had the most difficult night on his hands as he represented Austria against the World Cup runners up the Netherlands. In what was a thrilling match, with some spectacular goals, Pogatetz was unfortunately on the wrong end of a 3-1 score line. With the match being played in Eindhoven the hosts dominated possession, while the visitors were given few chances in front of goal. Overall, though, Pogatetz can be happy with the determined performance he put in for the full 90 minutes.

Rausch at left-back, Avevor with the win

Two of the younger Reds were included in the German national sides at U-21 and U-19 level. Konstantin Rausch played his part in his side’s match with their Greek counterparts and “Koko” seemed to be thrilled with the opportunity albeit at left-back as opposed to left midfield where he has been playing recently. He was substituted in the 64^th minute as he contributed to the team’s clean sheet in the 0-0 draw. Elsewhere, Christian Avevor had a little more success than his teammate as he helped the U-19’s to a 1-0 win over England in Chesterfield operating at centre-back with great effect, proving instrumental at holding the home side at bay.

Karim Haggui and Steven Cherundolo didn’t feature despite being picked for their national teams as both matches were cancelled due to political unrest in the host countries.