International Players Shine in UEFA Nations League Matches

On September 10, 2024, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz faced off in an exciting UEFA Nations League match, where the Netherlands drew 2-2 against Germany at home. Timber was brought onto the field just before half-time to replace Nathan Ake, following an early goal from Tijjani Reijnders that gave the Netherlands an initial lead. However, Deniz Undav equalized for Germany before Joshua Kimmich scored in added time to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage at the half.

In the second half, Denzel Dumfries restored parity for the Netherlands just five minutes after the restart, making the score 2-2. Havertz played the full 90 minutes in a forward position, contributing to his team’s efforts as both Germany and the Netherlands remained level on points at the top of League A Group 3, each with four points from two matches.

Across the English Channel at Wembley Stadium, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka also had noteworthy performances as England secured a 2-0 victory over Finland. Harry Kane scored both goals, marking a significant milestone with his 100th appearance for the Three Lions. Bukayo Saka was particularly impressive, achieving perfect stats in the first half, winning all his duels, completing both dribbles, delivering six crosses, and taking four shots.

Lee Carsley’s England squad is now positioned second in League B Group 2 with two victories from their matches, trailing Greece only on goal difference. Meanwhile, Oleksandr Zinchenko played 85 minutes for Ukraine in their narrow 3-2 defeat against Czechia. Ukraine initially fell behind, with Pavel Sulc scoring the first goal, followed by another from Sulc that made it 2-1 after an equalizer from Vladyslav Vanat. A penalty allowed Tomas Soucek to score and lead his team to victory.

Despite dominating possession and shots, Ukraine found themselves at the bottom of League B Group 1, having not secured a win in their two matches played. Gabriel Magalhaes also represented Brazil in World Cup qualifying, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to Paraguay, as Diego Gomez netted the only goal of the encounter, leaving Brazil with only one win from their last four competitive matches.