Five Napoli players were in action on Friday: Mathias Olivera, Kim Min-jae, Victor Osimhen, Piotr Zielinski and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa. Bartosz Bereszyński did not play for Poland due to a knee injury he suffered in training.
Resisting the Japanese Attack
Mathias Olivera played the full 90 minutes in Uruguay’s 1-1 friendly against Japan. Olivera was amongst a Uruguay back four that endured wave after wave of attack in the first half. However, the visitors opened the scoring, against the run of play, when Federico Valverde headed in the rebound after his initial effort crashed off the bar.
Japan equalized in the 75th minute. Despite his sliding effort, Olivera was unable to block the cross from the right wing. Substitute Takuma Nishimura got on the other end of the cross, scoring his third goal in four caps for his country.
Colombia From Behind
Kim Min-jae played the full 90 minutes in South Korea’s 2-2 friendly against Colombia. After a Heung Min-son brace in the first half, Colombia responded with two goals in the first five minutes of the second half.
In the 46th minute, Diego Valoyes was bumped off the ball by Kim on the right side of the area. However, the Colombian winger popped back up to his feet before nutmegging the Napoli defender with a cutback into the area. James Rodrigues calmly slotted his shot into the bottom corner to halve the deficit. Only three minutes later, Kim was unable to block the shot of Jorge Carrascal, who equalized from a similar position as Rodrigues.
Poor Service
Victor Osimhen played the full 90 minutes in Nigeria’s shocking 0-1 defeat to Guinea Bissau in Africa Cup of Nations Group Stage qualifying. The Napoli striker constantly popped up in dangerous positions, but more often than not, the final ball from his teammates was rather poor.
Osimhen’s best chance of the match came in the 16th minute. The Napoli No. 9 timed his run to perfections, receiving the diagonal through ball from Kelechi Iheanacho at the edge of the area. Osimhen was clear on goal but Guinea Bissau goalkeeper Jonas Mendes was quick off his line to stop the attempted chip.
Over in 3
Piotr Zielinski played the full 90 minutes in Poland’s 3-1 defeat to Czech Republic. The match was nearly over moments after it began, with Czech Republic scoring twice in the opening three minutes.
Zielinski lined up behind Robert Lewandowski in the 4-4-1-1 formation, but often dropped deep to retrieve and progress the ball. Through Poland enjoyed most of the possession, they created very little in attack, occasionally making speculative efforts from distance.
The Napoli midfielder tested his luck from 30 yards out in the 36th minute, but the ball bounced harmlessly wide of the goal. Five minutes later Zielinski slipped the ball through to Torino midfielder Karol Linetty in the middle of the park. He hit the target from distance but Czech goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka made the save with relative ease.
Down 3-0, Poland scored a late consolation goal on a corner kick taken by Zielinski. The ball bounced around in the area before falling to substitute Michał Skóraś on the right side of the area. His low cross was redirected by another substitute, Damian Szymański, into the back of the goal.
Late Relief
André-Frank Zambo Anguissa played the full 90 minutes, wearing the captain’s armband, in Cameroon’s 1-1 draw to Namibia in Africa Cup of Nations Group Stage qualifying. Though Cameroon controlled the tempo of the match, Namibia opened the scoring midway through the second half after a miscommunication at the back between midfielder Olivier Ntcham and goalkeeper Devis Epassy.
Anguissa had two chances to equalize shortly after the goal. First, his left-footed volley from outside the area was blocked for a corner kick. Then, the Napoli midfielder was surprised that Bryan Mbeumo’s free kick bounced to him at the second post. The cross was intended for Christopher Wooh in the area but he whiffed on the ball in the area.
Though Anguissa was less prominent in the second half, Cameroon found the equalizer in the 72nd minute. Olivier Michel Kemen headed the ball in from yet another Cameroon set piece.
Bonus Coverage
Alessandro Zanoli played the second half in Italy U21’s 0-2 friendly win over Serbia. The Napoli fullback, currently on loan at Sampdoria, was very active on Italy’s right wing. His low cross led to Samuele Mulattieri’s second goal of the match.
