Coady, Jimenez, Neto and Vitinha bag on international stage

10th October 2020

Conor Coady’s first goal for England stole the headlines in the first round of October international fixtures.

The Wolves skipper, earning only his second international cap, got on the end of a wicked Kieran Trippier delivery and produced a composed finish at the back post, to score his first goal from open play since 2016.

Remarkably, the goal wasn’t Coady’s solitary major highlight of the evening, as the defender, who’d helped England to a clean sheet in a 3-0 success, finished the friendly with the captain’s armband.

Conor Coady: Bagsmanpic.twitter.com/zuvRm1zPRi
— Wolves (@Wolves) October 8, 2020

Coady’s success followed on from more international appearances from his Wolves teammates at the back end of the week.

The skipper wasn’t the only Wolves man on target for his country, with Raul Jimenez scoring the only goal of Mexico’s victory over the Netherlands, proving ice cool from the penalty spot.

Also, Portuguese trio Rui Patricio, Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves all started in their 0-0 draw with Spain, while Nelson Semedo came off the bench.

However, they had their work cut out when Spain handed an international debut to Adama Traore, with the Wolves man being typically exciting down the wing.

Elsewhere, Leander Dendoncker played the full 90 minutes of Belgium’s 1-1 friendly draw with the Ivory Coast, earning his ninth international cap in the process.

Like Dendoncker, Saiss played the full 90 minutes of Morocco’s 3-1 friendly victory over Senegal on Friday evening.

Into the under-21s, Pedro Neto shone for Portugal, scoring two impressive goals against Norway and setting up his Wolves teammate Vitinha for another in a 4-1 success.