A busy Friday of international action for West Ham United’s players kicked-off with victories for Mohammed Kudus and Dinos Mavropanos and a senior debut for Academy of Football defender Michael Forbes.
Mohammed Kudus and Ghana kick-offed their 2026 FIFA World Cup CAF qualifying Group I campaign with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Madagascar in Kumasi on Friday.
Chris Hughton’s side scored in the sixth minute of added time when Athletic Club striker Iñaki Williams headed high into the net, sparking wild celebrations that saw Kudus booked.
The Black Stars head to the island of Comoros in the Indian Ocean for their second tie on Tuesday 21 November. Ghana and their two opponents are joined in Group I by Central African Republic, Chad and Mali.
Dinos Mavropanos was in the Greece side which overcame New Zealand 2-0 in a friendly international played in Athens.
The centre-back had a fairly comfortable afternoon at the Georgios Kamaras Stadium, home of second-tier side Apollon Smyrnis. Goals from Giannis Konstantelias of PAOK and Atlanta United striker Giorgos Giakoumakis in the first half secured the win.
Greece will complete their UEFA Euro 2024 Group B qualifying campaign at home to Alphonse Areola's France in Athens on Tuesday 21 November. A victory, combined with the Netherlands failing to win at home to Republic of Ireland and away to Gibraltar, will see Greece finish second and secure automatic qualification.
Callum Marshall and Michael Forbes were both introduced as second-half substitutes by Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill in their 4-0 defeat by Finland at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
Forbes made his senior debut, while Marshall earned his third cap, but Northern Ireland were already three goals down when the young Hammers pair were introduced.
This was a seventh defeat in nine Group H qualifiers and, with qualification beyond them, Northern Ireland will hope to finish their campaign on a winning note when they host Denmark on Monday 20 November at Windsor Park in Belfast.
In the evening, Tomáš Souček scored and Vladimír Coufal also started as Czech Republic kept their hopes of automatic qualification from Group E alive with a 1-1 draw away to Poland. With leaders Albania drawing 1-1 in Moldova, three countries can still finish in the top two.
A home win or draw with Moldova on Monday would see the Czechs guarantee a top-two finish, regardless of how Albania fare at home to the Faroe Islands. With Poland having completed their fixtures, only a defeat can now deny the Hammers pair qualification.
Overnight, Edson Álvarez also featured in international action as Mexico fell to a 2-0 defeat to Honduras in their CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final first leg.
The midfielder played all 90 minutes for the national side in the loss, with Honduras taking the lead through Anthony Lozano before securing the win thanks to Bryan Róchez's strike on 72 minutes.
Having been one of the seeded teams the loss to Honduras will come as a disappointment for Mexico, who will now need an inspirational performance in the second leg to overcome loss and qualify for 2024 CONCACAF Nations League Finals next March.
Jarrod Bowen was an unused substitute as England defeated Malta 2-0 at Wembley in Group C. England, who have won the group, travel to the Toše Proeski Arenaat to face North Macedonia on Monday 20 November in their final qualifier.
Academy goalkeeper Finlay Herrick was an unused substitute as England were defeated 2-1 by Brazil in their third and final Group C tie at the FIFA U17 World Cup finals in Indonesia. Despite the reverse, England topped their group and are through to the round of 16.
