It was a successful evening for Bayern internationals Robert Lewandowski, Marcel Sabitzer and Alphonso Davies. All three won their matches with Poland, Austria and Canada respectively – read this international round-up to find out about a red card in record time, hopes for World Cup qualification and a return to a former stomping ground.
Lewandowski with brace
Death, taxes and Lewandowski scoring – three things that are certain in life. The Best FIFA Men’s Player underlined this again on Friday night in Poland’s 4-1 win over Andorra in World Cup qualifying. The 33-year-old star striker netted two of the goals (5’, 73’) to help his country to victory, with Kamil Jozwiak (11’) and Arkadiusz Milik (45+2’) also on the scoresheet. Joan Cervos (45’) added some respectability to the scoreline for the hosts, who had Ricardo Fernandez sent off after just 19 seconds for an elbow. The away win secured the Poles’ place in the play-offs for the World Cup finals as Group I runners-up behind England.
Sabitzer scores for Austria
Like Lewandowski, Bayern midfielder Sabitzer played the full 90 minutes and bagged a goal in Austria’s 4-2 win at home to Israel. Marko Arnautovic (51’ penalty) and Louis Schaub (62’, 72’) were the other scorers for the Austrians, before Sabitzer completed the scoring from close range in the 84th minute. Nir Bitton (32’) and Dor Peretz (58’) had earlier scored for the visitors in Klagenfurt. Franco Foda’s side remain in fourth place in Group F and can no longer qualify through the group, but could sneak in through the backdoor of the UEFA Nations League. If four teams out of France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Wales finish first or second in their groups, Austria will go through to the play-offs.
Davies wins back home
It was a special night for Davies with the Canadian national team. The Bayern full-back played a match in Edmonton, where the 21-year-old grew up, for the first time since his youth. And to top it off, Canada picked up an important 1-0 win against Costa Rica in their bid to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. The North Americans are currently in third place, which would be enough. Jonathan David scored the only goal of the game in front of 48,000 fans, with Davies playing 83 minutes.
Catch up on how Sané, Müller, Sarr, Nianzou & Co. have fared so far in this international break 👇
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