- Crystal Palace stars are representing their countries
- Lacroix made his France debut
- Two Eagles stars on scoresheet
Whilst the domestic football may be on hold for now, Crystal Palace’s players are still in the thick of the action.
With 15 international call-ups, the joint-second most of any club in European football, there’s been plenty of performances to cover over the first round of games in this break.
International Eagles
Maxence Lacroix earned his first call-up to the French senior side, becoming the 950th player to be capped for Les Bleus, and was given his debut as he played 32 minutes as a second-half substitute in France’s 2-1 win over Brazil. For Palace fans, it was about time the central defender earned his first international appearance, and he didn’t fail to impress.
The general consensus amongst French fans on social media was that Lacroix was a refreshing addition to the side, and with Dayot Upamecano suspended for the next friendly against Colombia, William Saliba injured, and Ibrahim Konate’s patchy form, Lacroix has a great chance to cement himself as a key option for Didier Deschamps’ World Cup squad.
Adam Wharton played the second forty-five as England drew 1-1 with Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay, winning four of his five duels and combating well against an extremely physical side, and one of the World’s best midfielders, Fede Valverde. He did well winning free kicks and breaking up plays, and was strong defensively too, making five interceptions.
His performance will have given Thomas Tuchel something to think about. The number six position is undoubtedly a toss-up between Wharton and Forest’s Elliott Anderson. Both offer unique profiles, but Wharton will have to prove his worth across the rest of the Premier League season after he left the England camp following a knock he picked up during his cameo.
Brennan Johnson’s disappointing campaign continued as Wales crashed out of World Cup qualifying against Bosnia, Johnson sending his spot kick well over the bar. Spurs fans hinted that he was a confidence player, and unfortunately for both the player and the club, it appears that confidence is close to empty right now.
Sarr and Guessand on Target
Both Jefferson Lerma and Daniel Munoz played over an hour in Colombia’s narrow 2-1 defeat to Croatia, the pair well cemented as starters and unlikely to miss out on the World Cup.
Ivorian forward Evan Guessand scored the first of four as his side beat South Korea, and Ismaila Sarr continued his superb form this season as he scored the second of two Senegalese goals against Peru.
For Northern Ireland, Justin Devenny played the full 90 minutes as they bowed out of World Cup qualification against Italy, Fiorentina’s Moise Keane scoring in that game. Palace fans will be hoping that’s the end of his scoring against Palace players this season, ahead of the Europa Conference League Quarter Finals in April.
Daichi Kamada featured off the bench for Japan as they won 1-0 against Scotland, Kamada playing just 12 minutes.
Jaydee Canvot featured at right back as France’s Under-21s put five goals past Luxembourg, whilst Jorgen Strand Larsen started for Norway as they lost 2-1 against the Netherlands. Yeremy Pino came off the bench for Spain as they won 3-0 against Serbia in Villarreal.
Chris Richards did not feature for the United States, who lost 5-2 against Belgium, and Rio Cardines started Trinidad and Tobago’s 4-1 loss to Venezuela.
It’s been a busy break for Palace’s internationals so far, with another round of fixtures to come.
