Scally, Itakura and Fraulo all start

Four Foals made appearances for their countries on Friday. Joe Scally (USA), Ko Itakura (Japan) and Oscar Fraulo (Denmark U21) all started their respective games, whilst Luca Netz came off the bench for Germany’s U21s. Marcus Thuram was an unused substitute for France.

France

Marcus Thuram and the French national team got of to a flying start in the EURO 2024 qualifiers. The World Cup runners-up beat the Netherlands 4-0 at the Stade de France. Borussia attacker Thuram was an unused substitute for the game, but he had reason to be pleased: his brother Képhren was brought on in the 89th minute for his senior international debut. The game’s goals were scored by Antoine Griezmann and Dayot Upamecano, as well as a Kylian Mbappe brace. The next opponents for France are the Republic of Ireland.

• Monday March 27th, 20:45 CEST in Dublin: Republic of Ireland vs. France (EURO 2024 qualifier)

USA

The USA celebrated a 7-1 win in the CONCACAF Nations League against Grenada. Joe Scally won his fourth senior cap and played the full 90 minutes at left-back. Braces for Ricardo Pepi and Weston McKennie, and goals from Brenden Aaronson, Christian Pulisic and Alejandro Zendejas gave the American team the three points. Those who want to watch their next game in Europe will need to stay up late – kickoff is 02:30 CEST for the match against El Salvador.

• Tuesday March 28th 02:30 CEST in Orlando: USA vs. El Salvador (CONCACAF Nations League)

Japan

The start of the Kirin Challenge Cup saw the Japanese national team draw 1-1 with Uruguay. Ko Itakura (Photo: Imago/Keene) played the full game in central defence for the Blue Samurai. Federico Valverde opened the scoring for Uruguay, but Takuma Nishimura equalised for the hosts. Japan will face Colombia in their next game on Tuesday.

Germany U21

The 2-2 Friendly draw for Germany’s U21 team against Japan in Frankfurt saw on-loan Foal Jordan Beyer start the game, whilst Luca Netz was brought on in the 86th minute. Jessic Ngankam gave Germany the lead from the spot, before Kein Sato and Mao Hosoya turned the game on its head within three minutes. Another three minutes later, Denis Huseinbasic scored to make it 2-2. Tuesday will see the young DFB team make a trip to Romania for another friendly.

• Tuesday March 28th, 18:15 CEST in Sibiu: Romania U21 vs. Germany U21 (Friendly)

Denmark U21

Oscar Fraulo and the Denmark U21s were beaten 3-2 by Ukraine in a friendly. Fraulo started the game in Belek, Turkey, in which the young Danes came from behind to level twice, before being substituted in the 76th minute. Denmark will face Switzerland on Tuesday.

• Tuesday March 28th, 18:00 CEST in Odense: Denmark U21 vs. Switzerland U21 (Friendly)