The international window for national team matches has collapsed, meaning the time has come to know the results. Only 22 RPL footballers were called up for adult European teams, in addition some went to youth and youth teams, and also to South America, Asia or Africa. Overall, the representation is very solid.
Therefore, we talk about the performance of Premier League players not only in European matches, but also in other tournaments.
Armenia: Nair Tiknizyan (Lokomotiv), Eduard Spertsyan, Georgy Harutyunyan (both Krasnodar), Ugochukwu Iwu (Rubin)
Nair Tiknizyan in the Armenian national team
Photo: ffa.am
One of the biggest representations of the RPL is in the Armenian national team. The team was waiting for the most important matches with Türkiye and Croatia. The four players mentioned above appeared in the starting eleven in the first match, and Tiknizyan even participated in the scoring attack. The Armenian team led until the 88th minute, but lost the victory (1-1).
What happened to Armenia in the second game?
RPL players did not save Armenia from defeat. The referee made an important decision in favor of the Croats
The Armenian team lost completely to Croatia, conceding a goal in the second half. But all the RPL players started again. Spertsyan, even with the captain’s armband. Unfortunately it was not possible to get glasses. The Armenian team remained in third place in the group. The difference with Türkiye and Croatia is three points.
Belarus: Kirill Pechenin, Yuri Kovalev, Kirill Kaplenko (all – Orenburg), Vitaly Lisakovich (Rubin)
Vitaly Lisakovich in the Belarusian national team
Photo: abff.by
The team, led by new Spanish coach Carlos Alos, tied with Andorra. Two RPL players appeared in the starting lineup: Lisakovich, who played for the national team for the first time since 2021, and Pechenin. Kovalev came off the bench and Kaplenko sat on the bench throughout the match. However, the 0-0 eloquently characterizes what happens on the field.
In the match against Israel (0:1) all RPL representatives participated, except Lisakovich. Apparently, Vitaly was not forgiven for his poor performance against Andorra. Belarus held the tie until the end, but still conceded in extra time. Now the neighbors have four points and fourth or fifth place in the group (shared with Kosovo).
Kazakhstan: Nuraly Alip (Zenit), Marat Bystrov (Akhmat)
Marat Bystrov in the Kazakhstan national team
Photo: kff.kz
Magomed Adiev’s team lost the first match against Finland 0:1, but Alip and Bystrov played the entire match. But they managed to redeem themselves against Northern Ireland: they won with a minimal score. RPL players were also on the field, at one point Alip even saved the team from an obvious goal.
Kazakhstan achieved a historic achievement by scoring 12 points in the group. But they remain fourth, with the same number of points as Finland. And Slovenia and Denmark have one more.
On the first-hand history of the Kazakhstan national team:
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Serbia: Strahinja Erakovic (Zenit), Srdjan Babic (Spartak)
Strahinja Erakovic in the Serbian national team
Photo: CHRISTIAN BRUNA/EPA/TASS
In the first match against Hungary, both RPL defenders were left in reserve. Maybe that’s why the Serbians lost 1:2. In the next match against Lithuania, Babich appeared on the field and played all 90 minutes. Serbia won 3:1.
But due to the defeat in the first match, the Serbs lost first place in the group. Yes, there are now equal points with Hungary (10 each), but the rival for the lead has one game less.
Albania: Mirlind Daku (Rubin), Mario Mitai (Lokomotiv)
Mirlind Daku in the Albanian national team
Photo: Piotr Kucza/Zuma/TASS
The Rubin forward made his debut for Albania in the match against the Czech Republic, coming on as a substitute. Before, the footballer played for Kosovo, but only in unofficial matches. Daku did not give the team the victory (the match ended in a draw). But it seems that Mirlind may become the main protagonist of the attack. But Mitai spent the entire meeting with the Czechs.
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In the next match against Poland, Daku came on as a substitute again and scored almost in the first attack. Poland lost 0-2 and coach Fernanda Santos was fired today. Meanwhile, Albania temporarily took the lead in Group E. Yes, the Czech Republic has a game in hand, but the team went into halftime leading.
Moldova: Oleg Ryabchuk (Spartak), Nikita Motpan (Fakel)
Nikita Motpan in the Moldovan national team
Photo: fmf.md
The Fakel midfielder entered the friendly against Austria as a starter and played 61 minutes, but was ineffective. Ryabchuk did not enter the match lineup, the match ended in a draw – 1:1.
In the qualification match against the Faroe Islands, Motzpan started again and played 90 minutes. Moldova won by a minimal score and now sits third in Group E with eight points, above Poland.
Luxembourg: Christopher Martins Pereira (Spartak)
Christopher Martins Pereira in the Luxembourg national team
Photo: Aziz Karimov/Getty Images
The Spartak midfielder played well in the match against Iceland: he was the captain and the team won 3-1. It is true that during the match he received the third yellow card in this team and missed the match with Portugal due to too many warnings (by the way, like Cristiano Ronaldo). Luxembourg lost 0:9. However, the small national team occupies third place in the Group J standings and is only three points behind second-placed Slovakia (13). Why not level?
And with Portugal we had a lot of bad luck:
The Portuguese team set a monstrous record. And this without Ronaldo in the lineup!
Slovenia: Vanja Drkusic (Sochi)
Vanja Drkusic in the Slovenian national team
Photo: Jonathan Moscrop/ZUMA/TASS
The Sochi defender spent the entire match against Northern Ireland (4-2) on the bench, but entered the field against San Marino. Although he was a substitute due to a teammate’s injury, it was already in the 13th minute. Slovenia won 4: 0 and now shares first place with Denmark (12 points each) in Group H.
Kosovo: Bernard Berisha (Akhmat)
Bernard Berisha in the Kosovo national team
Photo: Razvan Pasarica/IMAGO/TASS
Berisha returned to the national team after a two-year break and immediately entered the starting eleven: he spent most of the match against Switzerland, but did not score any effective action. The Kosovars lost twice during the match, but finally saved the tie.
Berisha also started the match against Romania and played 81 minutes, receiving a yellow card. But from the end of the first half, Bernard’s team played with ten men. And she relented.
But the match was not remembered at all for the result:
Political scandal in the Kosovo party! The players had to be removed from the field due to provocation
The Kosovo team remained in second-to-last place with four draws after six rounds (Belarus also earned four points). And with almost lost chances of reaching the playoffs.
Montenegro: Igor Vujacic (Rubin)
Igor Vujacic in the Montenegro national team
Photo: Alex Nicodem/Getty Images
In the match against Lithuania, the Rubin defender did not appear and Montenegro tied (2-2). With Bulgaria, Vujacic appeared in the starting eleven, but was sent off in the 59th minute. And at the same time he earned a penalty. However, even this did not help the Bulgarians to score points: Montenegro recovered and achieved the victory (2-1) thanks to Stevan Jovetic.
With eight points, the Montenegrins occupy third place in Group G.
Israel: Eli Dasa (Dynamo)
Eli Dasa in the Israeli national team
Photo: Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images
With Romania, Daza played the entire match, but Israel could not win (1-1). And against Belarus, Eli came out with the captain’s armband, but was substituted in the 78th minute. But in the end Israel won 1:0.
After six rounds, the team is third and has real chances (11, one point behind second-placed Romania) to continue the fight for a historic ticket to Euro 2024.
Georgia: Luka Gagnidze (Dinamo Moscow)
Luka Gagnidze in the Georgian national team
Photo: Giorgi Ebanoidze/Getty Images
The match with Spain is a nightmare for Georgia. In the first half they conceded four goals and at half-time the Dinamo player was substituted. The final result is 1:7. Gagnidze was left out of the lineup for the match against Norway (1-2).
After these results, Georgia fell to fourth place in group A. The second place, which is occupied by Spain, already has five points (nine points + one reserve match).
What do RPL players remember from other tournaments?
Theo Bongonda
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
Spartak midfielder Theo Bongonda scored the first goal in the match against Sudan and helped the Democratic Republic of the Congo advance from the group in qualifying for the African Cup of Nations (2-0 victory). In the following friendly against South Africa, the footballer did not participate (0-1).
Iranian midfielder Mohammad Mohebi from Rostov scored the winning goal in the match against Bulgaria (1-0).
Orenburg midfielder Ivan Basic became the captain of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team (U21) in the match against Slovenia and gave an assist. However, this did not help us win: the team lost 1:2.
Roberto Fernandez
Photo: Bruna Prado/AP Photo/TASS
Bolivian and Baltic defender Roberto Fernández played 58 minutes against Brazil and was sent off in the first half of the match against Argentina. His team lost both matches by 1:8.
The Baltic defender did not hold back in the match against Argentina:
A brutal foul by a Baltika player against the world champion. Not even the second yellow was enough
Orenburg midfielder Marin returned to the national team after a two-year break and immediately gave an assist. Costa Rica defeated Saudi Arabia, where Roberto Mancini coached, 3-1.
The Uzbekistan national team (U23) played an Asian Cup qualification match against Hong Kong and won 10:0! The goals were scored by Rubin midfielder Umarali Rakhmonaliev and CSKA midfielder Abbosbek Faizullaev. He also scored the winning goal in the next match against Iran (1-0), helping the team qualify for the Asian Youth Cup from first place in the group.
Krasnodar midfielder Kevin Pina scored Cape Verde’s first goal in qualifying for the African Cup of Nations. But this did not help his team win: they lost to Togo (2-3).
Mumi Ngamalyo
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Dinamo player Mumi Ngamalyo provided the assist in the match against Burundi (3-0). The striker appeared in added time, but that did not stop Cameroon from increasing their lead to three goals.
