Four Napoli players were in action on Tuesday: Amir Rrahmani, Leo Østigård, Mathias Olivera Kim Min-jae and . Mario Rui was on the bench for Portugal’s final match in League A, Group 2 of the UEFA Nations League, but did not feature. Likewise, Hirving Lozano was on the bench for Mexico’s friendly against Colombia, but did not feature either.
Amir’s Return
Amir Rrahmani played 64 minutes in Kosovo’s 5-1 victory over Cyprus, confirming that the injury he suffered against Milan was in fact minor.
With Kosovo controlling the run of play, the Napoli central defender had very little to do at the back (Cyprus’ lone goal was conceded after Rrahmani was removed from the match).
However, Rrahmani did contribute to Kosovo attack. He was constantly looking to play a long diagonal pass to Aber Zeneli on Kosovo’s left wing.
Norway fall Short
Leo Østigård played the full 90 minutes in Norway’s 0-2 defeat to Serbia, who consequently won League B, Group 4 of the UEFA Nations League.
Norway struggled to contain the Serbia attack while generating few chances of their own, beyond an early chance for Erling Haaland. In an effort to get back into the match, Norway coach Staale Solbakken changed formation twice, switching from a four-man back line to a three, and then back again, but to no avail.
Nonetheless, Østigård demonstrated that he can play in both systems. He also won all three aerial duels he was involved in, reiterating his strength in the air.
International Friendlies
Mathias Olivera played the full 90 minutes in Uruguay’s 0-1 friendly win over Canada.
After conceding twice in the opening 33 minutes, Canada settled down and were on the offensive for the balance of the match. However, Canada’s more dangerous attacks came from Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David on Canada’s left wing (while Olivera defended Canada’s right wing).
As Olivera has admitted, he loves getting forward and joining the attack. However, that occasionally exposes the left side of Uruguay’s defence, particularly when he gets caught up-field and doesn’t have adequate coverage.
Kim Min-jae played the full 90 minutes in South Korea’s 1-0 friendly victory over Cameroon. As he did against Costa Rica, Kim lined up on the right side of the South Korea centre-back pairing.
It was a disciplined performance from the Napoli central defender, who was cautioned in the 20th minute for a late tackle on Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar.
[…] to a minor muscular injury suffered against the Rossoneri. Rrahmani returned to play 64 minutes in Kosovo’s 5-1 victory over Cyprus – just enough of time at just the right intensity to return to Napoli […]