Several City Stars In International Action

Internationals
19 Nov 2020
4 Minutes
LCFC.com provides a round-up of all the international action involving Leicester City first team players after a busy seven days of representation across the globe.

- Youri Tielemans scored twice and Dennis Praet also featured as Belgium secured qualification into the UEFA Nations League Finals
- Goalkeepers Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Ward were both involved in wins for Denmark and Wales respectively 
- Turkey winger Cengiz Ünder added two more international goals to his tally, while Jonny Evans was in action for Northern Ireland
- James Justin got his name on the scoresheet during victory for England Under-21s and Kelechi Iheanacho made two appearances for Nigeria 

Youri Tielemans was the star of the show for Belgium, scoring twice in as many games as the Red Devils booked their spot in the UEFA Nations League Finals.

Having opened the scoring against England in a 2-0 Nations League success on Sunday, Tielemans registered his fourth international goal during the 4-2 win over Denmark, also at OH Leuven's King Power at Den Dreef Stadium.

City's No.8 had riffled home a powerful effort against the Three Lions and netted the first goal of the game once more on Wednesday evening, beating City team-mate Kasper Schmeichel in the Danes' net.

City's No.8 Youri Tielemans celebrates his opener for Belgium against Denmark.

The 23-year-old then contributed to the Red Devils' second and third goals of the night, both scored by Romelu Lukaku, to confirm Belgium's qualification in the last four.

Tielemans had been introduced at half-time in the earlier friendly with Switzerland, assisting Michy Batshuayi for the leveller after four minutes of action.

His immediate impact laid the foundations for Belgium to go on and win the game 2-1 at the home of OHL.

Fellow Foxes midfielder Dennis Praet, meanwhile, started from the off against the Swiss before coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute versus England.

City midfielder Dennis Praet made two appearances for Belgium during the latest international break.

Elsewhere, City's No.1 Schmeichel starred for Denmark as they secured a slender 2-1 triumph over Iceland at Parken in Copenhagen to finish second in Nations League Group A2.

Schmeichel was substituted at the interval, before making his 60th international appearance against Belgium on Wednesday evening.

Also in Nations League action was goalkeeper Danny Ward, who helped Wales to a 3-1 victory over Finland, finalising his country's promotion to the top tier of the Nations League, as they finished top of Group B4, with 16 points from six matches.

Two consecutive clean sheets for Danny Ward helped Wales to UEFA Nations League promotion.

Earlier in the week, the 27-year-old had marked his ninth senior international outing with a second consecutive shutout, during a 1-0 success over Republic of Ireland.

He also kept a clean sheet during Wales' goalless international friendly draw with the USA, playing 90 minutes at Swansea's Liberty Stadium.

Across Europe, Cengiz Ünder netted his seventh and eighth international goals as Turkey ended their Group B3 campaign with a win.

Ünder produced two impressive performances for his country, scoring in both games.

Following last Wednesday's friendly with Croatia at the Vodafone Arena in Beşiktaş, during which Ünder’s strike secured a 3-3 draw, the Crescent-Stars came from behind to beat Russia 3-2 at Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadyumu.

A stylish curled effort marked his 26th appearance for Turkey, flipping the match on its head in the 32nd minute.

Jonny Evans and Northern Ireland were denied a place in the UEFA European Championship finals next summer after a 2-1 play-off defeat by Slovakia at Windsor Park.

Jonny Evans and Northern Ireland were narrowly beaten in their UEFA Euro 2021 play-off against Slovakia.

The Leicester City centre-back played the full 120 minutes in Northern Ireland’s slender loss, which went to extra-time before Michal Ďuriš’ 110th-minute winner settled the contest.

The 32-year-old then completed another 90 minutes at Windsor Park in the 1-1 Nations League draw with Romania, as Ian Baraclough's side finished fourth in Group B1.

Over in Africa, Kelechi Iheanacho's Nigeria played out two draws with Sierra Leone in ACFON qualifying, firstly a 4-4 scoreline at Ogbe Stadium before City's forward played 83 minutes in a 0-0 stalemate.

The Super Eagles now have eight points from four games and remain top of Group L, one point clear of Benin.

A moment to savour for James Justin as he scores in England Under-21s' success at Molineux.

Defender James Justin found the net in a 5-0 win for England Under-21s against Albania on Tuesday night. 

The Foxes No.2, operating in a right wing-back position, netted England's second goal in a commanding victory at Molineux Stadium, doubling the hosts' advantage on 26 minutes when he fired in a sweetly-struck volley inside the area.

The result means the Young Lions finish their UEFA U21 European Championships qualifying campaign unbeaten at the top of Group C, 10 points clear of second-placed Austria.