The striker played 75 minutes of the friendly match which took place at the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, on Saturday, but the 27-year-old was an unused in Mexico’s second friendly of this international period against Paraguay last night.
Despite earning his first senior international call-up for Portugal this month, Diogo Jota was an unused substitute in both of Portugal’s Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
However, fellow Portuguese Rui Patricio featured in the qualifying double-header in Lisbon against Ukraine on Friday, keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw, as well as in Serbia on Monday, as his country battled to a 1-1 scoreline.
Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho both started the first of Portugal’s matches against Ukraine, with Neves playing 62 minutes and Moutinho 87 minutes of the game, while neither made it on to the pitch against Serbia.
Leander Dendoncker returned to the Belgium squad and played the full 180 minutes as his country got their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign underway with a 3-1 win over Russia on Thursday, before following up with a 2-0 victory against Cyprus on Sunday.
Former Wolves boss Mick McCarthy started Matt Doherty on the right wing in Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 win over Gibraltar on Saturday in the first of their qualifying matches, but the defender had to settle for a place on the bench as the side replicated that result at home to Georgia on Tuesday with Doherty making a ten-minute cameo at the end of the victory.
Romain Saiss spent his 29th birthday on the pitch as Morocco fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Argentina in a friendly last night, but Saiss was an unused substitute in the side’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying draw with Malawi on Friday.
A 75-minute appearance for Portugal’s under-20s in a 1-0 defeat to Germany was part of Ruben Vinagre’s international efforts, who didn’t make it off the bench for the side’s 1-0 win over England on Tuesday.
While Morgan Gibbs-White appeared in three fixtures this week as England under-19s were unable to make it out of their European Championship Elite Group.
The young midfielder played all but moments of his side’s 4-1 win over Czech Republic last Wednesday, scored England’s only goal – a 91st minute penalty – in a 2-1 loss to Greece on Saturday, before coming off at half time in a 2-2 draw away in Denmark yesterday.
