On Friday evening, Ethan Nwaneri was the only BVB player in action. The 19-year-old faced Slovakia with the English U21 national team on the eleventh matchday of the U21 European Championship qualifiers. The match ended in a scoreless 0-0 draw, and Nwaneri was substituted after 71 minutes. With this point, England has secured first place in the group ahead of the final matchday and cannot be displaced from the top spot even in their final match against second-place Ireland.
Daniel Svensson did not play for the Swedish national team on Friday in their third Nations League match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The match ended 1–1. Next Monday (Oct. 5), Sweden will face Romania.
Samuele Inacio was also not included in the matchday roster for the Italian national team’s 1-1 draw against France. Italy will face Turkey on Monday.
Kobel Concedes a Goal for the First TimeOn Saturday evening, the Swiss national team faced Slovenia on the third matchday of the Nations League. After two shutout victories against North Macedonia and Scotland, Gregor Kobel conceded a goal for the first time this tournament. As early as the second minute, Slovenia’s Zan Vipotnik was given too much space in the penalty area and slotted the ball into the left corner.
Switzerland, however, did not let this unsettle them and turned the game around before halftime to secure a 2-1 victory. As a result, the Swiss national team sits at the top of the standings with nine points after three games. On Tuesday (Oct. 6), they’ll face North Macedonia, the group’s bottom-ranked team, which has yet to earn a single point.
Dos Santos Starts for the First Time in the Nations LeagueFor Enzo Dos Santos and Luxembourg, the third matchday of the Nations League featured a clash with Estonia. The 17-year-old Borussia Dortmund player made his first start in a Nations League match and played 62 minutes in central midfield.
The match got off to the worst possible start for Luxembourg: Estonia scored the goal that would prove to be the 1-0 final score just five minutes in. Luxembourg now sits in third place in the standings with three points after three matchdays. Next Tuesday (Oct. 6), they’ll face bottom-of-the-table Bulgaria in search of more points.
Gadou Gets a Red Card, but France Wins AnywayIn the U21 European Championship qualifiers, group leader France faced Luxembourg on the ninth matchday. Joane Gadou was in the starting lineup. The French got off to a strong start and took a 2-0 lead after just 24 minutes thanks to two goals by Steve Ngoura.
Shortly after the start of the second half, Gadou lost possession to Luxembourg’s Ivan Englaro while building up play. The BVB defender then stopped his opponent with a tactical foul. Referee Henrik Nalbandyan, however, ruled the action a professional foul and sent Gadou off in the 50th minute.
Englaro, who had been fouled, took the resulting free kick himself from the edge of the penalty area. His mid-height shot flew across the box and into the net. Just under a quarter of an hour later, Englaro struck again, converting a penalty kick to tie the game at 2–2. France, however, remained unfazed and, in the 76th minute, Mathys Tel scored the winning goal to make it 3–2.
Despite the red card, France remains at the top of the standings with 23 points. Luxembourg is in fifth place with seven points.
As early as Thursday, nine BVB players were in action with their national teams. You can read about how their games went here.