Thomas Assist Headlines Foxes International Action

Internationals
07 Oct 2021
2 Minutes
Leicester City left-back Luke Thomas played 90 minutes for England Under-21s as the Young Lions drew 2-2 with Slovenia Under-21s on Thursday.

- Luke Thomas contributed an assist in England Under-21s’ draw with Slovenia
- Youri Tielemans and Timothy Castagne were in UEFA Nations League action for Belgium
- Forwards Patson Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho played in FIFA World Cup qualifiers
- Sammy Braybrooke and Kian Pennant both started for England Under-18s

The travelling England youngsters went ahead inside five minutes courtesy of Conor Gallagher’s finish and the lead was doubled thanks to Cole Palmer’s goal, assisted by the Foxes full-back, on 14 minutes.

The visitors were pegged back, however, in the second half, with Mark Spanring and then Dušan Stojinović netting to level up the scores. England are third in Group G with four points after their second game of 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying.

Elsewhere on Thursday, Foxes duo Timothy Castagne and Youri Tielemans were in the starting XI for Belgium’s UEFA Nations League Semi-Final against France. Despite holding a 2-0 lead at the break, the Red Devils fell to a 3-2 defeat at Allianz Arena in Torino.

Castagne played 89 minutes before being substituted for Michy Batshuayi, while Tielemans featured for the first 70 minutes in Italy, replaced by Leandro Trossard.

Youri Tielemans shields the ball from Karim Benzema during the Nations League clash in Italy.

In qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, meanwhile, Patson Daka played the full game for Zambia, but couldn’t prevent his country slipping to a 2-0 reverse against Equatorial Guinea at Nuevo Estadio de Malabo.

Chipolopolo had to play three quarters of the contest with 10 men following Prince Mumba’s red card, before Saúl Coco and Emilio Nsue secured success for the home side. Zambia are currently third in their four-team pool, with three points from three matches.

Fellow Foxes forward Kelechi Iheanacho was also in World Cup qualifying action earlier, playing the first half of the Super Eagles’ 1-0 defeat by Central African Republic. Despite a 90th-minute winner from Karl Namnganda, Nigeria remain top of Group C, on six points.

Kelechi Iheanacho in action for the Super Eagles.

England Under-18s suffered a last-gasp 2-1 defeat to Norway Under-18s, with Development Squad midfielder Sammy Braybrooke and Under-18s forward Kian Pennant both starting for Ryan Garry’s side.

Jude Soonsup-Bell’s opener was cancelled out by Niklas Odegard's equaliser and Hovden Flataker's late second for the Norwegians. 

All times BST.