Rounding Up City’s International Involvement
From FIFA World Cup qualifying to UEFA Nations League Semi-Finals, here’s a look at how all the Foxes in action have fared over the past week…
Denmark – Kasper Schmeichel & Jannik Vestergaard
Denmark have secured their place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals following a 1-0 success over Austria in their qualifying pool on Tuesday evening.
Joakim Maehle’s 53rd-minute goal sealed three points, with Kasper Schmeichel and Jannik Vestergaard completing 90 minutes to help the Danes to maintain a perfect qualifying record.
Schmeichel also kept a shutout on his 75th international appearance on Saturday as they defeated Moldova 4-0. City’s No.1 started the qualifier at Zimbru Stadium, while Foxes team-mate Vestergaard featured throughout the second period.
Denmark have won all eight of their matches in Group F and have not conceded a single goal en route to their qualification for the Qatar finals, scoring 27 times in the process.
Belgium – Timothy Castagne and Youri Tielemans
Foxes duo Timothy Castagne and Youri Tielemans were in UEFA Nations League action for Belgium, starting the 3-2 semi-final defeat to France at Juventus Stadium. Castagne played 89 minutes, while Tielemans featured for the first 70 minutes in Italy.
Both were then also included in the starting XI for the third-fourth play-off against European champions Italy. Tielemans was withdrawn on 59 minutes, while Castagne saw out the full 90 in Turin as the Red Devils fell to a 2-1 reverse.
Nigeria – Kelechi Iheanacho
Foxes forward Kelechi Iheanacho was on the winning side as Nigeria defeated Central African Republic 2-0 at Stade Omnisports on Sunday, playing 74 minutes for the Super Eagles and earning his 36th international cap in the process.
Iheanacho also starred against the same opposition on Thursday as Nigeria amends for the 1-0 defeat last time out. Gernot Rohr's men sit top of their FIFA World Cup qualifying pool with nine points from four games.
Senegal – Papy Mendy
Also in African qualifying, midfielder Papy Mendy came off the bench twice as Senegal became one of the first teams to progress through to Africa's play-offs for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations runners-up secured two successive triumphs over Namibia to make it four wins out of four in their qualification pool and confirm Senegal's place at the summit of Group H, eight points clear of second-placed Namibia.
Entering the field in the 72nd minute of a comprehensive 4-1 success at Stade Lat Dior on Saturday, Mendy also made a late substitute appearance during Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, South Africa.
Ghana – Daniel Amartey
Daniel Amartey started twice for Ghana as they sealed back-to-back World Cup qualifying victories over Zimbabwe. The Foxes defender played 90 minutes in both matches, firstly helping his country to a 3-1 home success at Cape Coast Sports Stadium on Saturday.
Tuesday afternoon then saw the Black Stars keep a clean sheet at National Sports Stadium in Harare, winning 1-0 thanks to Thomas Partey’s strike on 31 minutes to remain second in Group G of their African qualification pool, sitting a point behind South Africa with three wins from four fixtures.
Zambia – Patson Daka
In qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Patson Daka played the full game for Zambia, but could not prevent his country slipping to a 2-0 reverse against Equatorial Guinea at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo last Thursday.
Zambia are currently third in their four-team pool, with four points from four matches after a 1-1 draw against the same opponents, in which Daka was not involved.
Turkey – Çağlar Söyüncü
Çağlar Söyüncü was involved for Turkey at Daugava Stadium on Monday as the Crescent-Stars picked up a 2-1 win over Latvia. Merih Demiral's own goal for the visitors was levelled by Serdar Dursun before Burak Yılmaz's dramatic, 99th-minute penalty left Turkey third in European Group G with 15 points.
Wales – Danny Ward
Following Friday’s 2-2 draw with Czech Republic on Friday, a fixture played at Sinobo Stadium in Prague, goalkeeper Danny Ward was involved again for Wales in Estonia, registering a clean sheet during their hard-earned 1-0 victory in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying.
On his 22nd appearance for the Dragons, the Leicester City shot-stopper made an impressive save to deny Vlasiy Sinyavskiy late on as Kieffer Moore's 12th-minute effort ultimately settled the clash. Wales' third win of six qualifiers leaves them third in European Group E, with 11 points.
England's youth teams – Luke Thomas, Kian Pennant, Sammy Braybrooke, Brad Young
Full-back Luke Thomas played twice for England's Under-21s in qualifying for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championships.
The Academy graduate started the 2-2 draw with Slovenia Under-21s on Thursday, assisting Cole Palmer’s first-half goal, before playing another 90 minutes in the 1-0 triumph away to Andorra. The Young Lions are third in Group G after three games.
Sammy Braybrooke and Kian Pennant enjoyed mixed fortunes for England's Under-18s, meanwhile, suffering a last-gasp 2-1 defeat to Norway Under-18s, ahead of their 3-0 victory over Russia in Marbella. The Foxes youngsters both started for Ryan Garry’s side against Norway and each featured from the bench versus Russia.
Goalkeeper Brad Young, on the other hand, was unused from the bench as England's Under-20s recorded an emphatic 5-0 success away to Czech Republic.