Three Napoli players were in action on Saturday: Leo Østigård, Mario Rui and Hirving Lozano. Amir Rrahmani was not in the squad for Kosovo’s match against Northern Ireland due to a minor injury he suffered in the Milan match, but is expected to return for Kosovo’s match against Cyprus on Tuesday.
Air Leo
Leo Østigård played the full 90 minutes in Norway’s 2-1 defeat to Slovenia. Østigård was the standout player in the first half, coming close on three separate occasions.
The Napoli centre back thought he opened the scoring in the 10th minute after beating Jan Oblak with a header from a set piece. However, the goal did not stand as Østigård fouled the defender in the process.
Just past the midway point of the half, Østigård was foiled by Oblak, who made an excellent reaction save on the defender’s header from point blank range. Østigård won another free header shortly before the break, but hit the ball too full and Oblak made a relatively easy save.
Østigård was dominant in the air. According to WhoScored.com, he won 10 aerial duels, which was (at least) double that of every other player on the pitch.
Return of Mario
Mario Rui played the full 90 minutes in Portugal’s 0-4 drubbing of Czech Republic. It was the left back’s first appearance for the Portugal national team since a 2-3 win over Croatia in the UEFA Nations League on November 17, 2020.
Rui wasn’t terribly busy with Portugal controlling the run of play, but defended well when called upon. The Napoli left back also played a perfect low cross to assist Bruno Fernandes on Portugal’s second goal of the match.
El Chucky!
Hirving Lozano played the full 90 minutes in Mexico’s 1-0 friendly victory over Peru. Lozano played on the left wing, where he’s accustomed to playing for his country.
Though they did not qualify for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Peru created the better chances throughout the match. However, El Chucky would have the final say after Mexico won a corner quick with five minutes remaining.
Andres Guardado’s in-swinging corner was flicked on by Cesar Montes before Lozano volleyed into the top corner at the near post. The late goal set off the largely Mexican crowd at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.
[…] Lozano scored an 85th minute winner in a 1-0 friendly win against Peru. The winger sat out Mexican’s friendly against Colombia for precautionary reasons. Like […]