RANGERS may not be in action this week but plenty of the Premiership champions' players have been kept busy over the international break after representing their respective countries.
Seven first-team players have been called up by their nations and after the first round of fixtures in the international break, four have featured for their national sides. Here's how they got on.
Steven Davis (Northern Ireland)
The evergreen midfielder led by example as Northern Ireland survived a second-half scare before sealing an emphatic 4-1 win away to Lithuania, and the skipper was unsurprisingly the beating heart for his side.
None of Davis’ compatriots had more touches of the ball than the 36-year-old, none come close to matching his number of passes completed and no one else on the park completed as many tackles as the veteran.
Former Rangers players Jordan Jones and Kyle Lafferty were brought off the bench in a second half that saw Northern Ireland’s two-goal lead halved and Lithuania’s Arvydas Novikovas – formerly of Hearts – fluff his lines from the penalty spot and spur a chance to equalize. Shayne Lavery restored his side’s two-goal advantage before Paddy McNair sealed the win from the penalty spot late on.
Filip Helander (Sweden)
The big Swedish centre-half was in for a stern examination in Sweden’s World Cup qualifier at home to Euro 2020 semi-finalists Spain, and the good news for Rangers fans is that the 28-year-old passed it with flying colours.
Fresh from scoring the winning goal and maintaining a clean sheet in last weekend’s Old Firm derby at Ibrox, Helander has carried his form into the international break with a commanding performance against Luis Enrique’s star-studded team.
Helander played the full 90 minutes in Stockholm as the Swedes ground out a 2-1 win over their opponents. Carlos Soler opened the scoring with just four minutes on the clock before Alexander Isak bagged an equaliser in response barely 60 seconds later, with Dejan Kulusevski’s second-half strike proving decisive.
Helander played his part as Sweden shut up shop and held what they had – including heading clear a dangerous cross from Jordi Alba towards the end – as the Swedes recorded a famous win.
Glen Kamara (Finland)
The classy midfielder was in action during his country’s 0-0 draw with Wales in a friendly encounter in Helsinki but was unable to turn the match in his team’s favour despite playing the full 90 minutes.
Kamara picked up a booking early on in the second half after bringing down Tyler Roberts 25 yards from goal, and was on the receiving end of a challenge from Josh Sheehan that resulted in a yellow for the substitute too.
Ianis Hagi (Romania)
The playmaker was benched for his side’s 2-0 win over Iceland but was brought on for the last 20 minutes or so with the score at 1-0 and played his part in the victory in Reykjavik.
Hagi will, however, be hoping to contribute more on his next outing. The midfielder managed only 11 touches of the ball in total in his cameo off the bench, and will be disappointed to have collected a booking.
Did not play: Borna Barisic (Croatia).
Still to play: Leon Balogun, Joe Aribo (Nigeria).
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel