On the first evening of the latest international break, it was a positive night with three of the four teams involving City players claiming victories.
Cyprus v Norway
Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway were 4-0 winners over Cyprus in a EURO 2024 qualifier in Larnaca’s AEK Arena.
His two strikes were separated by just eight second-half minutes after Villarreal’s Alexander Sorloth had opened the scoring in the first half.
It was also a memorable night for Oscar Bobb, who made his senior debut after being introduced from the bench in the 63rd minute.
Haaland thought he had broken the deadlock with a powerful header midway through the first half, only to be denied by an excellent Joel Mall save.
However, he wasn’t to be denied a few minutes after the hour mark when he fired home from a corner.
He followed it up quickly with a close-range header from a floated cross to register his 27th international goal on his 27th appearance.
With the three points guaranteed, Haaland was substituted in 78th minute.
Benfica midfielder Fredrik Aursnes completed the scoring inside the last 10 minutes.
Bobb enjoyed a solid first showing in international football, completing 17 passes.
The victory leaves Norway in third place in Group A with 10 points from six games.
Norway and Spain meet on Sunday, with Haaland and Bobb set to take on Rodrigo at 19:45 (UK) in Oslo.
Spain v Scotland
Rodrigo played the entirety of Spain’s 2-0 EUR0 2O24 qualifying win over Scotland at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville.
Scotland thought they had the lead midway through the second half but it was scratched off for a foul on goalkeeper Unai Simon.
Instead, Spain responded a few minutes later with Alvaro Morata’s glancing header from a Jesus Navas cross.
Rodrigo performed to his usual high standards throughout the night, completing 83 passes.
The midfielder was also crucial in his own box, getting in the way of a Stuart Armstrong shot that looked destined for the goal with only a few minutes to go.
Our man received the captain’s armband once Morata was substituted before his team sealed the win thanks to an 86th minute Ryan Porteous own goal.
Spain’s win leaves them in second place in Group A with 12 points from five games.
Next they travel to Norway for another qualifier at 19:45 (UK) on Sunday.
Croatia v Turkey
Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic both started in Croatia’s 1-0 defeat to Turkey.
In a EURO 2024 qualifier which saw first place lock horns with second in Group D, the opening exchanges were evenly contested with each individual’s physical capabilities tested.
Then, 15 minutes before the interval, Turkey notched first when Baris Yilmaz broke free of the host’s back four and dinked a delightful effort over the onrushing Dominik Livaković.
The second half started in a similar fashion to that of the first with not much to separate the sides and chances few and far between.
And the scoreline remained unchanged from half-time with Turkey leapfrogging Croatia to Group D’s summit with three points.
City’s Croatian duo will aim to bounce back in their next assignment when their nation faces Wales on Sunday 15 October at 19:45 (UK).
England U21s v Serbia
Rico Lewis registered two assists and Liam Delap scored as England Under-21s emphatically beat Serbia 9-1 in a EURO U21 qualifier at the City Ground.
The Young Lions came from a goal down to maintain their 100% start to their qualification campaign with our Academy graduate scoring his nation’s second of the evening and James McAtee also featuring.
Hull winger Jaden Philogene came close in the opening five minutes with a vicious dipping effort which was tipped over the bar by Veljko Ilic, before the visitor’s keeper produced another fine save to deny the Tigers’ man from close range soon after.
And, against the run of play, Dusan Djordjevic’s side broke the deadlock when Vladimir Lucic latched onto a well-timed cut-back before guiding the ball, first time, into the top corner from the edge of the box.
But, at the third time of asking, Philogene scored a deserved goal to equalise when he broke into the box and fired an effort into the roof of the net five minutes before half-time.
The skilful youngster then turned provider on the cusp of the interval when bouncing the ball across the box which allowed City striker, on loan at Hull, Delap to tap home.
England didn’t take their foot off the gas before the break, however, and extended their lead further in first-half stoppage time when Harvey Elliott weaved towards the box and rifled past Ilic.
During the second half, the gloss was added to the performance thanks to a brace from Chelsea’s Noni Madueke – both assisted by City starlet, Lewis – and Philogene’s second of the evening.
In the closing stages, the hosts scored a seventh when Luka Subotic scored an unfortunate own goal when the ball ricocheted off the defender and looped into the net.
And Elliott carved out an eighth when he whipped an inviting ball into the box where Jonathan Rowe headed home from close range, before Liverpool’s forward slotted a ninth home on 90 minutes.
Next up for Lee Carsley’s side is a meeting with Ukraine in Slovakia on Monday 16 October at 17:30 (UK).
The international break will continue into next week, with Pep Guardiola‘s squad returning to the City Football Academy from next Wednesday.
