We’ve all had our reservations about this international break but it’s fair to say, it did not disappoint.
On Friday morning, Australia faced Oman for the third round in the World Cup Qualifiers.
The Socceroos started the game off strong, with winger Awer Mabil scoring after just nine minutes, but Oman’s Al Mandhar Al Alawai equalised not long after, and the teams entered half-time back where they started.
However, almost as quickly as the second half kicked-off, Aussie Martin Boyle netted one home to put the Socceroos back in the lead.
Oman proved to be a tricky opponent, but striker Mitch Duke secured the 3-1 win with a late goal to claim Australia’s 11th straight win, setting a new world record in the World Cup Qualifiers. A place in Qatar not far from reach as Australia take on massive opponents Japan next.
The week hailed many new records, with Barcelona prodigy Gavi becoming Spain’s youngest ever player to play for the Spanish national team at just 17 years old, and Cristiano Ronaldo scoring his 112th international goal for Portugal in their win against Qatar, extending his record as the top-scoring player in international football, that he broke last month.
Later that morning, Belgium faced France in the Nations League semi-finals.
A game that got everyone sitting at the edge of their seats, as Les Bleus came from two goals down to beat Belgium to qualify for the Nations League final.
With goals from Yannick Carrasco and Romelu Lukaku putting France behind at half-time, it was not looking good for Didier Deschamps’ side.
But a stellar comeback performance, with goals from Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappé and a late winner and from Theo Hernández, his first goal for country, secured France’s place in the final, where they faced Spain.
On Sunday, England faced Andorra in the World Cup Qualifiers.
An anticipated easy win for England as Ben Chilwell opened the scoreboard after 17 minutes, netting his first England goal. Bukayo Saka followed suit with a goal before the break.
With the Three Lions hungry for more, England proved too much for Andorra as Tammy Abraham and James Ward-Prowse score a goal each before Jack Grealish sealed the 5-0 win with his first international goal for his country.
And here we thought the Nations League couldn’t get any better. On Monday morning, France faced Spain in the Nation League finals, and it was a nail-biter.
After a quiet first half, Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoreboard, but France’s Karim Benzema closed the gap just two minutes later.
At the end, it was the Les Bleus that reigned supreme as star Kylian Mbappé took home the win for his country, and France were hailed Nation League champions.
With club football returning this week, it’s sure to be another outstanding weekend filled with drama.
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